The beginning of
Sinister 2 felt like a Hollywood remake of Goodnight
Mommy, before quickly devolving into a typical sequel to the generic 2012
supernatural horror film. The villain in this series is an evil spirit called
Baghuul, which is essentially just a mix between the boogeyman and whatever the
angry spirits in The Ring franchise
are. When viewers of old family videos, which turn into found-footage snuff
films (Saw meets Paranormal Activity), Baghuul appears and possesses one of the
family children to kill the rest of the family. They also record the murders
for their own film to continue the cycle. The sequel continues this storyline
while also attempting to pay homage to Stephen King’s Children of the Corn. And perhaps this is the problem; in my first
paragraph attempting to describe Sinister
2, I have already mentioned five other horror franchises.
Beginning with a
new family, new house, and an all-new set of ghost children, Sinister 2 brings many of the same
horror tactics of the original, without the benefit of the surprise ending.
This time the supernatural attack takes place on a remote rural farmhouse
recently inhabited by Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon) a battered wife hiding in an
attempt to protect her twin sons, Dylan and Zach (Robert and Dartanian Sloan),
from their abusive father (Leo Coco). The back-story involving a powerful
husband willing to use his affluence and influence to track down his wife and
sons is merely an excuse to keep Courtney and her boys in the farmhouse, never
needing any resolution once the paranormal activity begins.
The only
character to return from the original film is the police officer known only as
“Deputy So & So” (James Ransone), though he has lost his job in law enforcement
and instead dedicated his life to destroying the homes affected by Baghuul’s
curse. It turns out that a family becomes victim as soon as they move in,
leaving ‘Ex- Deputy So & So’ few chances to help Courtney and her boys. To
make matters worse, one of Courtney’s sons has already begun watching the reels
of old home footage and can see the various ghost children from the home’s
chain of homicides.
My biggest
problem with the Sinister franchise
is the only thing separating it from the many other horror films it appears to
be imitating/copying. I don’t mind horror violence, but the murders in the
found footage have no suspense. They are creative and disturbing, but don’t
have the same sense of humor as similar murders in the Saw franchise. There is something far darker in the struggle-free
murders of Sinister 2, providing no
choices or warped morality behind the torturous deaths. This is just evil, and it
is second-hand evil at that.
The high
definition is hardly necessary for the most crucial moments of the film,
because great effort has been taken to use found footage with a purposefully
aged look. So it is somewhat ironic that the exclusive special feature included
on the Blu-ray is the extended versions of the ‘kill films.’ Also included are
deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and a commentary track with director
Ciarán Foy (Citadel).
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 3.5/10
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