Sinister 2

The first film was good, I enjoyed it, but not scary. So a sequel was expected and it failed to live up to the standards of the original. I would say, it was a decent horror film, with more story and drama than the creepy atmosphere. One character retained from the previous and the core theme remained, but tried a different method of narration. Something like 'Goodnight Mommy' with two brothers and mystery events surrounding them.

It definitely lacks what a horror film required the most, and predictable too. But the story wise, it was decent, because the actors did a good job. So it is an average film. I expected a better ending and it did not conclude at its best leaving me disappointing. The way it ended might have been the suitable for the story, but I wasn't impressed. Again, another sequel is most certain, so I think this tale is not over yet and chances are very high that the story would follow with the same cast.

It was not a bad flick, but not a follow-up you would have wanted. If you're looking for a genuine horror film, then you should skip it. There's nothing brilliance to appreciate at any level. Overall, I too felt it should have been better in some places. So my advise is if you forget its genre and try to enjoy that you're watching some movie that you don't know its category then surely would have a decent time with it.

4/10

Not as good as the original but still an okay horror movie. Maybe if it didn't involve the kids so much the scenes could have been more graphic.

Many a horror sequel fail to live up to the legacy of its predecessor because it is content to simply do the same thing over again and/or try to compensate for that familiarity by over-doing on cheap jump scares. Thankfully, 'Sinister 2' isn't that kind of sequel. As much as it places yet another family in a creepy old house with a past, there are more than enough new elements that differentiate it from the original, while at the same time remaining thematically faithful to the earlier Scott Derrickson film that was regarded as one of the better horror films of its year.

Derrickson doesn't return to direct this sequel, but he and C. Robert Cargill again assume writing duties here. Given the fate of Ethan Hawke's character at the end of 'Sinister', the duo has wisely chosen to leave his character to rest; instead, it is James Ransone's Deputy So & So who makes a comeback, the former deputy who had previously assisted Hawke's Ellison Oswalt now himself obsessed over such similar cases. Indeed, the erstwhile police officer has been tracking houses which were scenes of grisly murders accompanied by the disappearance of the families' youngest, and his own investigation has since brought him to a rural farmhouse where a mother is taking refuge with her two sons from her abusive husband.

Unbeknownst to her, the older twin Dylan (Robert Daniel Sloan) has been seeing several ghosts of young children around the house, who conspire every night to get Dylan to sneak to the basement and watch snuff movies recorded on Super 8 film of them killing their entire families. If Dylan doesn't cooperate, they promise that his nightmares won't go away – or that the demon by the name of Bughuul would be very, very upset. Their intentions only become clearer much later on, and without spoiling the surprise, let's just say that it has to do with some sibling rivalry between Dylan and his much more impetuous younger brother Zach (Dartanian Sloan).

Although casting the accursed family as a protective mother and her twin sons might seem a convenient way of appealing to audience sympathy, there is a much more ingenious reason for the conceit. Those who have seen the first movie will recall the twist near the end where each unfortunate family meets their end only after moving from a previous scene of murder to a new residence; as it turns out, Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon) is particularly inclined to moving away whether by force or volition once she is found by her husband Clint (Lea Coco) . That adds a frisson of urgency to the deputy's quest to find out more about Bughuul before her inevitable move, a personal mission which also puts him directly in evil's way.

Whereas the earlier movie was told largely from Ellison's perspective, Derrickson and his substitute Ciaran Foy opt not just to observe the proceedings from Courtney's point of view but also that of Dylan's, especially as the latter is repeatedly seduced by the seemingly innocuous exhortations of Bughuul's ghost kids. At the same time, reinstating the former's offbeat supporting character into this narrative also provides a perfect opportunity to explore the mythology of Bughuul, in particular a vital clue left behind by Professor Jonas (Vincent D'Onofrio) whom Ellison had previously consulted that points to the demon's modus operandi from more than four decades ago.

At no point do the writers nor Foy sacrifice proper storytelling for convenient scares, and aside from the unsettling moments that are meant to make you squirm (or jump) in your seat, there is a surprisingly well-developed narrative that keeps you on edge. The former however should not be under-estimated, as Foy shows more gumption than Derrickson by upping the shlock factor of the found footage – one shows an entire family being electrocuted by their son while seated in a pool of water in their kitchen, another shows a separate family buried in the snow to die of hypothermia, but the most shocking of all is that which takes place on the grounds which Courtney had moved into, which sees the family of a church minister and the minister himself being burrowed alive by rats trapped on top of their stomachs under a bowl on which rests a piece of hot coal.

Even without its predecessor's benefit of surprise, 'Sinister 2' packs plenty of suspense as it unravels the origins of Bughuul while demonstrating in detail just how each one of the missing children is exploited to recruit his very next victim. Like we said at the beginning, this sequel proves superior than most others of its ilk by being much more than just a retread of the original while showing an impressive restraint against jump scares. It doesn't hurt that it also boasts a gripping story which builds to a strong finish that reinforces the malevolence of the children who have fallen prey to Bughuul's devilish charms. Yes, it is a more than worthy sequel all right, and one that most certainly lives up to its title.

Sinister had a good premise and twist that separated it from ordinary horror flick. This also means it was relying on the mystery aspect that was revealed at the end. The sequel loses the luxury of having the paranormal riddle. Instead of completely rehearsing the plot it utilizes different perspective and personalities, then combines it with dreadful bits to make a terrifying spectacle.

Resuming the events from previous movie, now Ex-Deputy (James Ransone) is trying to sever the haunting circle by destroying the houses it affected. Unfortunately, there's a new family of mother (Shannyn Sossamon) and two sons who occupies one particular house. They are in danger of repeating the same terrible fate as previous victims, especially the children.

James Ransone is a much different lead than Ethan Hawke was, he's more timid and less intense, but he looks very decent which should endear audience to his valiant effort. There's good chemistry with Shannyn Sossamon who is a great cast for the mother role, just like in TV series Wayward Pines. The two are not the typical family or paranormal whiz of recent horror movies, and this gives the characters a sense of urgency.

There are bits of usual investigation involved, but the main draw is the perverted twist on the children and the eerie clips they made. These short clips are like snuff movies from children's point of view and presented with old cryptic filter. It may seem a bit similar to that of first film, but they are dauntingly effective and much more diverse.

The children themselves don't look menacing and often seem like superficial apparitions. Unlike the original movie which displayed them sparsely, their appearance here is overexposed. It may have worked if viewers were introduced more to the children or the child abuse issue was treated with more polished, although unfortunately there's not much depth on the youngling characters.

For most parts the scare looks average, coupling a few jump scares and taking hints from creepypastas. It loses the steam towards latter end since it becomes a tad predictable and the ghostly kids are hardly frightening, however the characters are adequately presentable which should keep audience invested throughout the unworldly predicament.

Sinister is one of my favorite horror films from the past few years, so when the reviews for this sequel started coming out, I was really disappointed. I mean, it has a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time that I'm writing this. But after going into the movie with an open mind, I actually thought it was surprisingly solid, a whole lot better than the reviews would have you believe.

When Sinister 2 was originally announced, I was pretty skeptical. The original focused so heavily on a mystery that was solved by the end, so how do you make another one when we already know what's going on? C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson pull that off by offering something totally different that still feels familiar. We follow the madness from a child's perspective this time, and that allows us to explore the rules of this universe in a really interesting way. In the first one we're begging for the Oswalt family to leave the house, but this time, we're begging for the family to stay in it. The formula is flipped around a bit, and while still being structured around a collection of film reels, Sinister 2 feels different enough to justify its existence.

It's also quite creepy just as the original movie was, although the atmosphere isn't as bleak and relentless this time. A whole lot of scenes take place during the day and just consist of a lot of dialogue, and it was definitely missing the Scott Derrickson touch in some places. Sinister 2 also relies on jump scares a bit more than its predecessor did, and in fact nearly every single scare in the movie is accompanied by a loud noise. They all worked on me, so I didn't mind too much, but I wish I could say the scares in this one were as inventive as they were the last time.

But overall, Sinister 2 does a really solid job of building on the first one. The plot is far more interesting than I expected, James Ransone and Shannyn Sossamon are both great, and the film reels themselves are all pretty fantastic (except for one that goes a bit over the top and just looks silly, but I won't spoil it). Best of all, while Mr. Boogie gets more screen time here, I never felt the added exposure made him any less terrifying, and luckily the franchise hasn't gone the Halloween route of explaining too much.

No, it's not as good as the original, but if you enjoyed that movie as much as I did, you should have a good time with Sinister 2.