As a big fan of the 2012 film, Sinister, I was really looking forward to part 2.  Produced by the horror juggernaut Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious), Sinister 2 follows a young mother and her twin sons after they move into a rural farm house that’s marked for Bughuul’s death.  Written by the first film’s writer/director, Scott Derrickson (who abandoned the director’s chair in favor of the upcoming Dr. Strange) and directed by Ciaran Foy, the movie is beautifully framed.  One aspect that I can arguably mention about all the Blumhouse films is the quality in which they are produced (even with the notoriously small budgets).  I have noticed this flick being panned by the mainstream, so before I mention the pit falls I want to point out the positives.

Leading the film is Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines, One Missed Call).  She does a great job playing a stressed out mother, trying to protect her children from their abusive father.  The abusive family drama storyline is not pegged in any of the advertising, but definitely helps the viewer to sympathize with the mother and children of the Collins’ family.  I was really rooting for them to make it through.

This being a sequel, we had a few returning characters.  James Ransone returns as Detective So & So.  He plays a much larger role in this film, and the character he portrays is awkwardly likeable.  He is not the traditional leading man archetype and I really found his performance refreshing and entertaining.  Nick King also returned as Bughuul.  If you are expecting to see a lot of the Sinister “icon” then you will be greatly disappointed.  Essentially playing an extra, what you have seen of him in the trailer is really all that you will see of him in the full film.  He really plays as more of a background character.  The main antagonist(s) being the ghost children that attempt to lure in the Collins’ twins.

The setting of the film really has a “Children of the Corn” vibe.  I dug the rural setting and it plays nicely in juxtaposition to the suburban setting from the first film.  I will say the snuff films in this movie are really creepy; however, as I mentioned earlier, if you have seen the trailer you have seen the best of the snuff films.

Trying to point out all the positive notes in this film, I still left the theater feeling unsatisfied.  The story is really where the movie falls short.  Sossamon, who through the whole film is completely oblivious to all of the ghostly events, manages to quickly accept the whole thing within 30 seconds.  The film does not have the same creepy atmosphere that the first movie managed to capture.  Instead, most of the “horror” in this film is based on multiple jump scares.  Failing to really reach a climatic climax (pun?), the movie ends on an abrupt and sudden note inevitably leading to a Sinister 3.  If you have seen the jump ending of Sinister part 1, then you’ve pretty much already seen Sinister 2.

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