3 stars for this scary but slightly daft horror film.
Sinister 2 is written by Scott Derrickson (Deliver Us From Evil) and C. Robert Cargill (Sinister) and directed by Ciarán Foy (Citadel). Produced by Jason Blum, who brought us The Gift and Insidious: Chapter 3, this film has excellent pedigree, which it almost lives up to.
It follows on from the events of the first film, Sinister, and features the Deputy (James Ransone – Inside Man, Oldboy) who was present for the Oswalt case.
He has worked out a pattern to the fiendish workings of the demon Bughuul and is travelling around burning properties which he feels the demon may have marked.
His journey takes him to the Jacobs property, adjacent to an old church where one of the previous mass murders occurred. The M.O. was the same as all the others, most of the family slaughtered (in a different way each time) and one child missing.
Much to his delight, on enquiries he finds the property is vacant, so off he heads, gas can in hand, to burn the place to the ground. Unfortunately when he arrives he finds he is too late. Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon – A Knight’s Tale, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) has already moved in with her twin sons Zachary (Dartanian Sloan – Life’s an Itch) and Dylan (Robert Sloan – Hero of the Day), trying to escape from her brutal and abusive husband Clint (Lea Coco – Dorian Blues).
Dylan is already beginning to experience nightmares and has met the other inhabitants of the house, including Milo (Lucas Jade Zumann – Thrill Ride), Ted (Jaden Klein – Mother’s Milk) and Emma (Laila Haley) for their gruesome nightly slide shows.
The deputy has his work cut out in a desperate race against time to save this young family from the horrors he knows await them. But will he be able to persuade them to stay?
Sinister 2 is in many ways a very good film. The acting is excellent and so is the script, which flows quite nicely. There are some issues with the story, as in how did the whole thing get started in the first place? That doesn’t make sense. And why any of it is actually happening is a tad confusing, when did demons become budding amateur film makers?
It does have a satisfying number of very effective jump scares, however even these are let down slightly by Bughuul’s uncanny resemblance to Michael Jackson which adds an unfortunate level of comedy to the proceedings.
I would still recommend it however, there are plenty of worse films out there and it really is very enjoyable despite it’s flaws.
“You want my professional advice? You don’t stop evil. You can only protect yourself from it. Do I believe the things you are talking about exist? Yes. And I believe they exist to lure men like you into them. Stay out of it. Whatever it is.”
Sinister 2 is available to buy now on DVD and Blu-ray.