Director: Ciarán Foy
Writers: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Stars: James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Robert Daniel Sloan
Running Time: 1 hour 37 Minutes
IMDB Score: 5.3
Why I Watched it: Well it’s a horror movie and I did like the first one, didn’t love it but it was a solid horror film.
Random Thoughts: So we have a sequel to a horror film and they’ve gone cheaper and have chosen to focus more on the big bad and mythology rather than plot, kind of pare for the course, with horror of course it’s always about the monster/slasher/demon so I was fine with that. The other big thing is we get a new director but the writing team is the same so that’s something.
The funny thing about horror sequels is the second one is the most important if you want a franchise and let’s be clear that’s what Hollywood wants. I’m a horror fan and I’ve seen a ton of films so I get it and I was a little shocked at the hate or let’s say non love for Sinister 2, I think it may have come from the backlash of the first film that got pretty good reviews but let’s be honest it wasn’t a classic, a decent idea that had one really good performance and was shot well so this one comes and critics hated it so I went in not excepting too much.
What I Liked: The best part of this movie is James Ransone the only person back from the first film, he was a secondary character but he survived and what I liked is that he plays scared, which we never see we either get characters who refuse to believe or we get this macho BS here we get a guy who knows whats going on and feels he has to try to stop it because he knows families will be killed. Add to the fact he’s not really your typical lead guy, if they focused more on him a think the film would have worked better.
The family we focus on is just cliches put on types that never seem real, I didn’t mind Shannyn Sossamon she tries and she’s likeable but she’s playing a type not a full written character. Now with most horror films the focus is on the bad guy so Bhughul, I do think he’s an interesting villain cause he gets other people to do his dirty work, he’s a force someone influencing people and he’s spooky. I think he works and his gimmick of the murders needing to be recording as a way to keep him alive is a cool idea.
What I Didn’t Like: The main problem is that this film is close to the first one as the set up is pretty limiting, we need a house we need a family we need the family to have more than one kid, we know what happens so the film gets very repetitive at times. The other main problem is there’s no real way to kill Bhughul, you can stop him but that’s it.
I thought the melodrama around the family was so cliched and so ham fisted it was insulting, the whole the mother has custody but the rich and abusing father owns everything is just silly, the father is a cartoon villain, I mean he forces his wife back to live with him and the boys, that doesn’t work and really hurts the film, to be honest you didn’t need it.
The film also is not very scary, sure it’s moody and there is tension but they don’t add anything to the first film, the film doesn’t build it’s own suspense and at times he feels a bit flat. The ending is decent and does build pretty well but the middle is lacking the scares.
Final Thoughts: I pretty much liked it but for sure it’s flawed but I liked James Ransone’s character and I thought he was well written and different and for me he was enough to keep me in gauged in the film and that Bhughul and what he does is creepy and disturbing as hell..
Rating: 6/10
