Sinister 2 (2015) User Reviews (242)

So and so

[grintemcstinger · 5/10 · 15 December 2015]

Sinister 2 isn't as bad as some make it out to be. It's not a good movie either. Like most sequels, it struggles with the novelty gone and never manages to succeed in new ways or areas. It is a mediocre and forgettable film, just as the name of it's main character.

I very much enjoyed the first movie. While it's not without its faults - I actually don't think it was that scary with too heavy reliance and textbook-use of "creepy" sounds and the children were too cliché for my taste; it was a very absorbing movie, well directed with excellent music, a good sense for mystery, mood, pace, a solid twist and awesome ending. It cleverly managed to outbalance it's shortcomings.

Sinister 2 starts off promising enough - at first it looks and feels just as it is supposed to, the snuff-flicks are still here with their grainy look and new, obscure kills complimented by creepy music. We find out what has happened after the first movie and continue the investigations surrounding the murder cases involving mysterious events, now with a new family (with twins - which could've provided an interesting twist to the story) and more involvement of the deputy from the prequel which at this point pretty much has inherited the knowledge of the previous main character. Everything you could possibly want in a sequel to Sinister is here, but sadly it is meaningless as they never manage to do something as interesting or memorable with it.

The death-flicks are useless this time as they don't provide anything to resolve the puzzle or any kind of new information. Even worse: the pace of them is pretty much straight to the point giving them a very rushed, uninspired and uninvolved feeling - not enough build-up and no intensity. As opposed to some in the first movie, none of them made me wonder or left me amazed how they were filmed. Instead some of them involve CGI rats and crocodiles - don't even ask. Even the characters argue to watch them all through in one sitting almost as if just to be done with.

The movie also suffers from too much exposition provided by the ghost children. The family, the deputy and Bughuul I found to be decent, but also problematic. While the deputy continues to be the same, likable character, you'll never fear for him because he seems to be too safe from all of it. The character of the mother is another one we should fear for, but oddly enough she is almost entirely absent in any of the horror events; her struggle is only on the family-issue side which doesn't quite sit right with this kind of movie and is more or less a subplot which lacks emotional depth, partially due to the father being so over the top. There is just overall little sense of danger in this movie which is its biggest fault.

To it's credit it does try to provide new things while being true to the first movie. It has it's moments where it shows potential and ideas, but never quite manages to expand on it in suspenseful and creative ways. It does however bother to explain some things surrounding the history and what if's, just about in the right amount without ruining too much, which is always nice. It also has its fair share of plot holes and faulty logic, just like the previous one did (some are even still the same), but I found it to be forgivable as it's not something I should be too concerned about with a movie involving supernatural events.

It's not exactly trash. I wasn't really bored watching it, but it also didn't provide enough suspense either, which is something it definitely should have. With a third Sinister movie seemingly sure to be made it'll be interesting to see where he series is being headed and if it'll reach cult status as any other popular horror franchise. The first one has potential to become a classic, this one is a much weaker entry which makes me wonder how they will handle the next one. Sinister 2 had potential and could have used more polish in almost every aspect. Hopefully the makers will learn from it and allow them more time to come up with good material.

It could have been great.

[joaovieiramonteirod · 5/10 · 21 October 2015]

I could say that Sinister II was by far one of the most expected horror movies of this year. It turns out that this movie did not really meet the eager audience's expectations for several reasons. Firstly, the horrific elements present in the first movie are just not that scary in this version: The tapes - although very creatively done -seemed to be quite of a "stretch". They neither added something to the story nor were scary. The fact they also didn't look as homemade as the ones in Sinister I only lessened their spooky nature.

Mr. Boogie is much more exposed and doesn't act as much under the shades. In this version, Bughuul seems more like one of those cliché-type of horror entities that shows up behind the main character (as it naturally does in this version) with the intention of just going unseen.

The scene where Mr. Boogie suddenly shows up behind Deputy "So and So" is extremely unnecessary (besides of being cliché). The good and old Bughuul would never subject himself to such exposure and suddenly hack into his computer. And, how come at the end that kid was still able to text Deputy asking for help? Why didn't Bughuul just stop it from happening?

I must give credit to the sound effects for all these scenes though.

Also, emphasizing the kids' roles was a risky move.It could have been great if it was done well, what unfortunately, wasn't the case. These kids' persuasive techniques to trap other kids into this "enchant" weren't just convincing.

This movie takes a perspective, which they do not commit to fully explain. When I heard that this version was coming from the standpoint of a "chosen" child, I wanted to understand what happened to Stephanie from the original version. And guess what? I still don't understand how a normal abduction happens. How would they persuade an only child?

This version felt like we were watching a special occasion, full of exceptions, while the first one only depicted how things happened at their natural rate. The fact that this family was already going through some internal issues turns this case into a "special occasion". It might be only me - but I didn't enjoy it. Don't take me wrong, I think the idea of addressing family issues was a great idea. However, this topic added a singularity to this case, that doesn't apply to the other occasions. I don't know how abduction takes place in traditional families.

The weakest point of this movie - the ending. Children that can show up anywhere in the blink of an eye and can't find a family trapped in a house? How's that even consistent? Although the radius from the very ending is an interesting artifact, it is also an odd component to the movie. It doesn't add too much.

This movie had strong points that could have been wisely used to produce something as comparable as the original version. Children's perspective, family issues, along with other themes addressed, would have produced a high-quality movie if they had been well used. If producers had produced something consistent throughout, where they combined different themes that could become conflicting (as they did), the movie would have turned out to be much better.

It definitely leaves a lot to desire in comparison to Sinister I.

5.5/10

Deceptive Conclusion

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 20 January 2016]

In a farmhouse near a corn field where Ellison Oswait lived, the boy Dylan (Robert Daniel Sloan) has nightmares and is haunted by ghostly children led by the boy Mile (Lucas Jade Zumann). Dylan lives with his mother Courtney Collins (Shannyn Sossamon), who has just left her abusive husband, and his brother Zach (Dartanian Sloan) and is forced by the ghosts to go to the basement to watch home films in Super 8 of families being slaughtered. Ex-Deputy So & So (James Ransone) is investigating the crime spree of Bughuul (Nicj King) and burning down the houses where the deceased families lived to protect other families. He travels to the farmhouse and finds Courtney and her sons living there. He tells that he is a private investigator and he protects her against a bluff of her ex-husband to keep the children with him. Then he begins a love affair with Courtney. Meanwhile Dylan tells to the ghosts that he will not see any video again but Zach, who is the real choice of the ghosts, replaces him. When their father succeeds in getting a court order to have the custody of the children, Courtney is forced to go with the children. What will happen to the Collins family?

"Sinister 2" is a sequel of "Sinister" with a reasonable story but a very weak conclusion. There are plot holes such as how Zach tied his parents and his brother in the cornfield? Why the ghosts need to make Zach jealous of his brother? Why Zach becomes so bad - he is possessed by the Bughuul but the film does not show him as a victim. How the ex- Deputy and Courtney would explain the deaths? Why the need of a piggyback to a next sequel in the end? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Entidade 2" ("The Entity 2")

Scare-free cash grab that killed the possibility of a great franchise.

[lnvicta · 3/10 · 7 October 2016]

Sinister was one of the scariest horror movies of the past decade for me. Was it perfect? Absolutely not, but it got the basics of the genre right. The atmosphere was brooding, the imagery was disturbing, the pacing was deliberately slow, the acting was convincing, the suspense was constantly lingering, the scares were genuine, and you were on the same page as the protagonist the entire time. Sinister 2 cheapens everything that made the first film effective. Chilling atmosphere? Gone. Interesting characters? Nope. Good scares? Not a one.

Sinister 2 spoon-feeds everything to you in the clunkiest, most annoying way possible. For starters, this movie is a prime example of why I generally hate kid actors. A good chunk of the story revolves around these two brothers and how the ghost children are leading them into the Boogey-world or whatever it's called, and their acting is horrendous. Some scenes are just the kids talking back and forth and it's painful to sit through. Also, the creepy 8mm tapes are blatantly shoehorned into this movie because, hey, they worked in the first one so we gotta throw them in here. In the first Sinister, Ellison had to watch these tapes because it was part of his job. He was investigating the murders and was forced to sit through these horrific tapes to find clues to help him (and the audience) learn about what was happening. Here, the evil kids lure one of the human kids into the basement and say, "Hey, watch this! Or else..." So the kid watches the tapes, and they serve absolutely no purpose other than to show gratuitous violence for the sake of having gratuitous violence. None of it is scary or disturbing on a personal level because it's such a sloppy plot device that breaks up the momentum of the main story.

The main story isn't good either. Their mother is hiding out from her abusive ex-husband, another cheap plot device that adds nothing to the story other than to have a detestable character to root against. He shows up to make everyone agitated and mad, literally, that's his sole contribution to the movie. The deputy from the first Sinister is the only recurring character, and he's likable enough. In fact, the chemistry between the deputy and the mother is the best part of the movie. If they had developed their characters more and focused on them investigating the mystery behind these tapes, it could have been a serviceable sequel. But no, the kids take center stage here and make it excruciatingly hard to care about anything going on.

Mr. Boogie also takes center stage, dressed to the nines (like any great horror movie villain), popping up here and there with his long hair and suit looking like Michael Jackson. It becomes a joke after a while, and not a funny one. Jump scares are scattered throughout like a minefield and you're just waiting for them to go off. Nothing in this movie works. It's aggravating to know this is the sequel to Sinister because it ruins the possibility of a franchise. Sinister 2 should have never been made, and if you haven't seen it, then pretend it doesn't exist. Sinister stands on its own, while Sinister 2 lays in the pile of pointless, unwanted, cash grab horror sequels that deserve to be erased from human history.

Much better than I expected

[brendanrmorrow · 7/10 · 22 August 2015]

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.

I wanted to like it...

[lukenutt5 · 1/10 · 11 October 2015]

Being a huge fan of the first Sinister, I was beyond excited for this movie. After seeing the trailer, it looked like they were going to go over the top with this one and make it intense. I really wanted that to happen. I really wanted this to be even better than the first.

I didn't get what I wanted.

This is my first review, so I'll keep it short. Everything that I was hoping this film would have, wasn't there. Not really a spoiler, but I felt like it tried to be more of a family drama movie with some supernatural stuff going on in the background. There were non-genuine jump-scares and the acting was less than average. Even with the glaringly bad plot, I sat there trying to look at some positives. The positives are that some scares got me. I'm jumpy even when I know jump-scares are coming, so they got me on that. But when the movie ended, I couldn't help but reflect on how bad the overall story was and how stupid some of the scares were. I won't spoil any of them, but let's just say that you'll probably be wondering how the scares were "genuine" when you really put it into perspective.

I give this movie a 5/10. Mostly because I just really, really wanted to like it. I kept searching for any redeeming qualities throughout the movie and they are slim to none. I recommend watching if you're bored one night and you've seen just about all the horror movies out there. It'll pass the time, but it's just a plain jump-scare fest with a nonsensical story. Don't go in having high expectations like I did.

EDIT: I gave this movie a 5/10 because I was in denial. This movie not good. 1/10.

A poor follow up to original

[Sweet_and_Lowdown77 · 25 August 2015]

I really enjoyed SINISTER (although, I'll always think it's a terrible title - HOME MOVIES seemed to make more sense), but I digress.

I liked the original. It was creepy with a solid story that didn't insult the audience. You HAD to be paying attention as the film didn't hit you over the head with what was happening. It left bread crumbs and let you figure it out.

I also thought the performances of Hawke & the others were genuine.

SINISTER 2 was a great disappointment. While I liked the idea of seeing it from the kid's side this time, unlike the 1st film, it TOLD you everything that was going on.

And it didn't have to. We KNEW the basic premise.

I felt all the scenes with the kids weren't authentic. They also weren't scary.

The film made the "home movies" the focus. This was a mistake. The original made the characters the main focus. While creative, the home movies were a side gag that got elevated to "main course" because there wasn't much meat on the bone.

I like Shannon. She still looks so young, yet I believed she would have 2 kids.

I would've made the scenes with the ghost kids scarier. More haunting. More like 6th Sense where they didn't just come out and say what they wanted.

Just my two cents.

Solid but didn't live up

[dar0417 · 6/10 · 6 February 2020]

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.

Still sinister but totally unmemorable

[eddie_baggins · 3/10 · 18 May 2016]

While Sinister 2 is still quite well… sinister, it certainly lacks any of the originality and constant vibe of fear that made its predecessor such a memorable and competent horror film that found both success at the box office and on home release.

Directed by soon to be Dr. Strange deliverer Scott Derrickson, Sinister was a competently made horror that featured scarily good sound designs, an assured lead turn from Ethan Hawke and a somewhat unique premise that introduced us all to one of horror's most eerie creations of recent times in the form of the child hungry Bughuul.

Where the first film's use of home footage horrors and sudden appearances of Bughuul and his tribe were used to horrific effect, new director Ciarán Foy struggles to utilise the murderous footage to chilling affects here (even though a rat centric set piece is a dastardly delight) and an overuse of Bughuul undoes many of the films wannabe scares. It also doesn't help that an uninteresting story that's been co-created by Derrickson fails to engage like Ethan Hawke's struggling writer plot line of the first film.

Trying to keep things tied together by the return of James Ransone's one time sheriff's deputy So & So (seriously we never get to hear his name) and his quest to stop Bughuul's evil dominance, the plot that also includes Shannyn (yes I'm still acting) Sossamon's mother of two increasingly doomed boys just fails to fire and with a mere handful at best of genuine frightening or terrifying moments, Sinister 2 fails to recreate the ominous mood of the first film and where the first film culminated in a shocking finale, Sinister 2 try's but fails to shock us with a fiery and scythe laden crescendo.

The first Sinister offered up so much opportunity for a new franchise to take hold and while Bughuul still remains and interesting and scary creation, Sinister 2 seems to mark an early drop off in form that will likely see the Sinister franchise relegated to bargain bins before long, which is a sad proposition for a storyline that if done right, could be all types of horror filled greatness.

1 ½ late night basement movie screenings out of 5

James Ransone is Very Good but the film isn't scary at all & it felt more like a Children of the Corn flick.

[lukem-52760 · 6/10 · 23 October 2021]

The first SINISTER was a fairly scary & very atmospheric Horror film but this sequel definitely wasn't scary in the slightest because it felt like a Children of the Corn flick & a family drama mixed together.

James Ransone is very good again as the timid & scared Duputy from the first film & James is a very interesting actor & is a very good actor & i liked him more than Ethan Hawke in the first film. James was excellent in the brilliant "IT: Chapter 2" & is genuinely a good actor who i like to see. Ransone definitely is the best thing about this sequel. His Deputy is a funny character with a good heart & is now a private investigator working on the case of the Evil Supernatural Deaths after the horrific murders of the Oswalds family.

The Deputy meets a scared mother with her two weird sons that are on the run & hiding out in a big old farm house next to an abandoned church that was the site for a families murder. The story is fine really & the cast is decent with the super sexy Shannyn Sossamon as the boys weary mum with her own problems going with her abusive ex-husband & now Supernatural goings on at her farm house. The weird skinny young boys are the target of a bunch of evil ghost kids that wanna persuade them to kill their family but one boy is good & one is bad.

This does feel very routine for a Supernatural flick & nothing stands out as scary, unique or even creepy at all. In fact SINISTER 2 felt like a Goosebumps episode or something similar. The fact you see the ghostly kids constantly & the boys sit talking to them regularly that there is zero threat at all & no tension or fear for the audience but it's still a fun & entertaining supernatural film. Of course Sinister 2 was totally inspired by Stephen Kings Children of the Corn & that's fine. I did like the rural setting with the big old farm house & the corn fields.

The film is watchable & fun but that's completely down to James Ransone keeping it all interesting & fun because he's a good actor & Deputy is a good character full of awkward charm.

The first Sinister was definitely more creepy & atmospheric but i will say that Sinister 2 is much more fun & i love that Duputy character.

A Sin, Not Sinister

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 2 March 2017]

This movie was absolute rubbish. I'd be generous if I were to call it a scary movie because it was far from that. It was a drama with some scary parts--if that much.

Buguul is after new prey and he's found them. A mother has ran away from her extremely abusive ex-husband and she has her two sons in tow. One of these two sons is chosen for the deed of offing his family. The majority of the movie is exposition about the mom, her ex, and the one ex machina character that is trying to prevent the next massacre. It is so bogged down with drama and visible ghosts that you wonder if they're even trying for horror. I contend that they were not.

I think they figured they wouldn't be able to make a good horror sequel anyway so why try. Let's just use the same title, the same antagonist and somewhat of the same plot, throw in a couple of very unlikeable characters and then people will lap it up. This movie was lazy, over the top and just plain hard to watch. If everyone was killed in this drivel I would have been more inclined to applaud. There was no mystery to uncover, there were no characters that were beloved and there was nothing scary about this movie. It was sinister what they did to the viewers.

As good as the first Sinister!

[vengeance20 · 9/10 · 21 August 2015]

I was excited to see this one since I first heard a sequel was rumoured not long after the release of the 2012 hit & have to say it was pretty much as good as the first!

This film has a similar set up like the first. The house is marked for death by the evil spirit of Bughuul. This time, it's a divorced mum & her twin sons who live in the house. We see Officer So & So & Bughuul being the only 2 protagonist returning for this second installment.

The film was pretty good & had some really good suspense to it! The jump scares were great & the Super 8 film reel deaths were great! Especially the one with the alligator which was epic!

The story-line was pretty good & we got to see more of Officer So & So along with the victims who this time try to lure one of the twins in to watch the films each of them made.

The blood & gore was good in this film also & I felt the film had a very dark & eerie feel to it! The ending was good, though the very end part before the credits I wasn't bought with entirely. But the ending in general was great!

Overall, I thought the film was quite dark, intense & scary! I recommend you go & watch it! Screw what those critics say! They don't know a good horror film when they see it! The film was ace & you'll love it! On par with the first Sinister I say! 9/10

Pleasantly surprised

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 21 August 2015]

Ex-Deputy(Ransone, still no name, and charmingly awkward as ever) continues the investigation. He's found another house. Rural, middle of nowhere, instead of a small town one. Burning them seems to work - it's tied to the locations. But there's a problem. There's someone living there. Now, he has to keep them from leaving, without wanting to tell them why.

Sequels to horror stories fail. They just do. We know too much now. You can't pretend we don't. Retread? Too different, it won't be the same. How could you possibly follow up? By shifting the perspective, setting and approach to the material by just the right amount, maintaining yet expanding the lore and cleverly retooling key elements. The children are creepier and better used, the family is more prominent and interesting, a writer's studying is replaced by a protective former cop whose fondness for, and bonding with, his charges grow and develop. And the films are shown for a different reason. Bughuul appears in different ways, somewhat more overt, hardly any of them compelling. That does bring up the negatives. Deaths go too far, ending up as torture porn, if at times genuinely scary rather than merely gross. The CGI is limited in use but never looks convincing.

This builds solid tension and suspense. The jumpscares are quite good, always surprising and not too frequent. Ideas for what grips us are creative, at times excessively so. This moves nicely along, giving enough time to each major plot point. In addition to the welcome increase in dialog and lines in general, far more happens in this. While this improves on the first in few ways, it takes enough risks and gives us the right amount of the unexpected, that which we didn't get before.

There is a lot of gruesome, disturbing content, violence and some graphic gore and strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of the genre. 7/10

Insulting to the original

[Demetrius_Stork · 3/10 · 29 November 2015]

This film actually made me angry. As a person who has a soft spot in their heart for many movies bad or good, this movie invoked a negative emotion that I couldn't shake. When something is bad or is done in an unnecessarily over the top way, I can usually find a way to make fun of it to make the bad not seem so bad. This movie lacked even that enjoyment except for maybe a few sequences.

Firstly, this movie isn't scary. While the last movie enjoyed psychological thrills as well as some well timed jump scares with horrifying images to boot, this film lacks those kind of scares for the majority. For example, when the Deputy is looking at a crime scene photo he clearly sees the Bughuul standing in plain sight(which is completely against what the Bughuul would do in the original) and then at exactly the moment the shot zooms in, the Bughuul steps forward. These scares, which are throughout the majority of the film, don't work because you know exactly when they are going to occur, making them extremely predictable.

Another problem with the scares in this movie is that the imagery is significantly more mundane. By that I mean the images that the movie shows aren't scary or creepy whatsoever, with the exclusion of the family killing scene but I'll get to that in a bit. Many of the jump scares are just of the Bughuul, who is utilized horribly in this movie, which just simply isn't very scary because by this point you're familiar with who he is and what he looks like.

The ghost children are another huge problem with this movie. They aren't scary at all. This is especially frustrating because the first shot with them is actually done very well. Done in a bedroom where the ghost is revealed via quick-shot to a different perspective. Sadly the ghost children in this movie don't live up to the first shot or even come anywhere close to it. This is mostly because, get this, they aren't even supposed to be scary. Yeah, in this film the children are supposed to be more of a focus in that we get some story from their perspective. Honestly I do have to give some props for the movie trying this as it is a very new and risky approach. But with all risks there is a chance of either success or failure, in this case it's the latter. This doesn't work because the children in the first film were such a huge factor in the scares and overall atmosphere of the movie. They never speak, they're in the shadows, their motivations are kept in the dark for the most part, and overall they're just plain creepy. In this film, all of those factors are taken away; they talk, they look like any other kids, and they don't do anything scary. In fact they're friends with our main character. Their motivations are a big problem too. In the first film, it kind of isn't really explained why the kids kill their families. Do they do it because the Bughuul tells them to? That's what it may seem like but if that's the case, then why do they run away from him? Were they forced into it? It's all kind of ambiguous and mysterious. In this movie, the children flat out enjoy what they do. They all talk, especially Milo, like little James Bond villains, it's just silly.

The acting in this film is awful as well. You really just have to watch the movie to know what I'm talking about. James Ransone, who did a good job in a bit part in the first film, is just awful as the lead. His line reading is confused and his emotions never make any sense. The rest of the acting is hokey between the insane asshole ex husband to the insane asshole son Zach who just out of the blue decides to kill his whole family(Wtf).

But there is one thing I found enjoyable in this movie and it's the "film" scenes. Even though the build up is awful with the terrible child actors building no atmosphere and the scene set up making no sense. The family killing scenes are very well done. My favorite has to be the scene where the family is being frozen to death in the snow. This scene is brilliant because the family, while they slowly die, is looking at their big, beautiful home, that they'll never be able to return to, even though it's just a few yards away. This scene is actually probably one of my favorites in horror movie history and is one of only two reasons this movie isn't a 1/10, instead I'll bump it up a whole point for this small stroke of genius. The other point comes from the scene with the rats, which references an ancient form of torture that I've always wanted to see shown on film. Well this movie did it and bravo, it was done very well.

In conclusion, don't see this movie even if you liked the first. Or better yet just watch the scenes with the kids killing their families, those scenes are the only bright spots in a movie that I would say otherwise isn't worth viewing.

Awkward movie

[fairyrainbow · 1/10 · 9 August 2016]

A young single mother with two boys is on the run so she moves into a house where a family was murdered right next to a church where a family was murdered, or something. Her children start seeing ghosts and one of the brothers starts watching murder tapes (of which there are plenty), like those in the first film. His brother gets jealous of that and the boy refuses to continue to watch the tapes. But it's okay, because ghosts decide they wanted the other brother, anyways. Ex-deputy so and so finds the family, falls in love with the mother, but alas, she has an evil abusive husband who finds them and takes them all back to live together and to abuse. Nobody can do anything about it because, of course, he's rich and controls all of the authorities. Deputy so and so goes to a scientist guy to find out some random information about the murderous demon who is also an artist. He comes back to rescue the family from a killer child. The killer child is consumed by the demon for failing to kill the family. Deputy, the mother, and the other brother get to a motel and then there's a jump-scare. Oh, and the abusive husband gets killed, but who cares about that jerk.

You can see this movie is awful right from the start. The first scene is just like in the first movie, only worse: it's no longer scary or new or surprising or has a cool eerie soundtrack. The comic relief character from the first movie is made the protagonist. He isn't made less annoying, which in the first movie was tolerable since he was just a secondary character. In this movie everyone is a secondary character: a not very bright mother, two annoying children who start as friends and then suddenly become enemies, a not very bright ex-deputy so and so, more annoying ghost children, an evil abusive father with no redeeming qualities, and an awkward scientist. We find out the characters' back stories through awkward exposition that fails to add any depth to them. It feels like the director told actors to just be very awkward in every scene, because it's endearing, I guess.

There's no coherent plot line, the story is full of dei ex machina and plot holes. It's just sloppy. For instance, in the first movie the murder tapes were clearly from different decades, in this one they just pulled a bunch of new tapes out of nowhere, with murders that seem to have been happening every weekend. Makes you wonder why only a halfwit ex-deputy could figure some kind of pattern out.

What about the scariness? It's bad jump-scares overload. And I like jump-scares in horror movies when they're done right, like in the first Sinister movie. In this one you can see them coming from a mile away and they're no longer scary. You're less scared of things that you can see clearly and in this movie there's no subtlety, as if they're worried that you won't notice how clever they are with their scares. It all just comes off as trying too hard: zooming in the bad CGI on the tapes, the demon popping out here and there, etc. Or, for example, in the first movie what made the tapes so eerie was in big part their soundtrack. You can see that the makers of the second movie got the idea - they added a record player to the projector with records that play "sinister" sounds, but it's so in your face that it just seems silly.

Overall, I do not recommend wasting your time on this movie. It isn't scary at all, child actors are bad and annoying, all the characters are awkward as hell and one-sided. 1/10

Adding to the lore while giving the series a different feel

[Robert_duder · 7/10 · 27 August 2015]

I don't think Sinister 2 was better than the first but in some respects it was at the very least as good as. I think the cast wasn't quite as strong and it didn't have the experience and Hollywood clout that Ethan Hawke brought to the table. Still, it does give it a more indie feel and really builds on the Bughuul lore that is built up in the first one. I love this legend they've created in this series and it could be a long term franchise if they handle it right. They still sort of leave Bughuul in the background of the story although its less so the case in the sequel but I think we really need an entry in the series that brings him to the forefront. Makes him a truly evil and viable foe. One of the creepiest and best parts of the first film was the use of the 8MM films that Hawke finds in his attic and this film realizes that aspect and uses it even more making them in depth and even more disturbing and a really vital part of the story. Fortunately they don't overdo it but they are definitely used a lot. The tension is there although not quite as much as the first and the pacing was a little slower. There was also a few key plot holes that I couldn't get past but overall this is a worthy sequel that horror fans will enjoy. I'm still waiting for them to really take the series to new heights because the potential is there.

There is nothing more that I love than a protagonist returning in a horror series. In this case you have a bit character from the first one played by James Ransone who I thought should have had a bigger role in the first one. He is now the lead and he's actually very charismatic. He has a sort of bizarre personality, very awkward and nervous seeming but it suits his character and somehow it doesn't come across as campy. I hope he comes back again in the future and perhaps we will learn why we have not been giving his character's name yet in two films. Shannyn Sossamon plays the single Mom protecting her two boys on an abandoned farm. Sossamon, much like Ransone, has an awkward almost nervous quality about her and some of her lines aren't delivered the best but it works for her and she is decent in the role. Her and Ransone have good chemistry that is left mostly unexplored. Real life brothers Robert Daniel Sloan and Dartanian Sloan play Sossamon's sons that are targeted by Bughuul. Both do a great job and actually shine more than the adult cast. The twist involving them isn't much of one but they both do a great job regardless. Lea Coco is also good in a small role as their abusive father. I would have rather seen him get a better ending because they establish him as a really awful person early on.

Sinister 2 lacks a lot of expertise. It doesn't have any big Hollywood experience behind it either on cast or crew. Director Ciaran Foy has very little experience behind the camera and while I think he does add a distinctive indie quality to the film, it needs someone with a more experienced eye to really make it jump. It even feels a little bit rushed but I'm glad they connect it to the first film but I hope they go a little bigger with a third instalment and use this as more of a bridge between the two. There are definitely some genuinely scary moments and it gets under your skin much like the first one did but its just lacking a certain something. The first film felt like it was paying an homage to Stephen King and this one continues that feel as well. I kept thinking how much some of the scenery and certain scenes felt like "Children of The Corn" and then I come to find out that there intention was to pay respects to exactly that story so they are successful in that vein. The setting definitely has a feeling of isolation and creepy backwater locales. Definitely worth watching but won't impress you like the original. 7/10

Sinister 2

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 29 October 2021]

The unnamed deputy (James Ransone) returns in this sequel. He is now a private investigator tracking down families in danger from the demonic Bughuul.

He finds Courtney Collins (Shannyn Sossamon) running away from her abusive husband Clint. She has taken her twin boys Dylan and Zach with her and holed up in a house.

The house the deputy knows something evil will happen and plans to destroy.

It is the reserved Dylan who is contacted by the ghoulish children who makes him watch snuff movies. In the hope he will film the slaughter of his own family for Bughuul.

However it is the bully Zach who wants to impress the spirits. The catalyst for the horror is when Clint fights for custody by using dirty methods.

The movie gets its horror from the disturbing lo fi snuff movie segments. The children have previously filmed gruesome and inventive deaths of their family members that Dyland is forced to watch.

The final segment is off the rails. Zach manages to withstand a car accident and manages to chase everyone with a scythe.

I liked it, solid horror

[dnaples-72178 · 7/10 · 31 October 2020]

I liked this one as much as the first, just differently. I dont know why all the bad reviews. The first one was the parents perspective, this one shows it from the childrens perspective. Therefore, it helps give an all around idea of how Bughuul haunts. They showed Bughuul more than they did in the first movie so I liked that.

Boring and unimaginative, a weak sequel

[adamonIMDb · 3/10 · 1 December 2016]

I enjoyed the first 'Sinister' movie, so naturally I was looking forward to the sequel. It soon became clear that 'Sinister 2' was going to adopt the same scare techniques as the original film, namely ghost jump scares and disturbing scenes of murder. Only this time, it was tame in comparison.

The storyline is poor, unimaginative and not particularly engaging. The 'scares' are cheap, predictable and, well, not very scary. I also thought the chemistry between the characters that was so prominent in the original film was lacking. I don't know why, but they seemed to place far less emphasis on character development in 'Sinister 2', which didn't help at all.

A very disappointing sequel to the original 'Sinister', which was a very creepy and strong horror movie.

If you loved the First You Have To See the Second!

[roguecritic42 · 7/10 · 22 August 2015]

I can't believe the ignorance and arrogance of critics. So many bad things said about this movie, so I almost didn't see it. NEVER Listen to CRITICS!

OK, First, the critics said this movie lacked the scares the original content of the first. Wrong. Purely Wrong!

Let me say, yes, this movie didn't star Ethan Hawke. But this movie did just fine giving you same horrific scares, gore, and horror as the first. Great content, great story line. Hot female lead. Attractive male lead. Good chemistry between them. Good story line. Plenty of surprises. If you are seasoned horror movie lover, you will still get your fill of jump out of your seat moments. If you are a sadistic torture porn lover, you'll still get your fill of that too. New story, that accurately and properly continues from the first. Good new scares, good new torture and gore scenes, great movie over all.

Don't listen to the haters. If you loved the first, go see it. I can't believe the ignorance and arrogance of critics who see horror movies these days. These guys are not even qualified to comment on these movies. This IS NOT Mission Impossible 10 or Avengers 5, it's Sinister 2, and I LOVED IT!

5.3 Rating? Really?

[blee0744 · 2/10 · 4 June 2017]

The current IMDb rating of 5.3 is at least 3 points higher than the movie deserves. The budget for the move is shown is $10 million, and I am willing to bet that none of it went toward writing a decent script. And I say this in spite of the fact that I have a very low quality threshold when it comes to horror movies.

As good as the first, if not better.

[droidX · 10/10 · 20 August 2015]

I don't write many reviews on IMDb but I feel this movie deserves one. Sinister is easily my favorite horror movie to come out in the last 5 years so I was pretty sure I wouldn't like the sequel more than the first film. Even 20 minutes into the movie I said to myself "Nope, this isn't gonna be better than the first" but as time passed and as the movie kept going I realized this is one of the best sequels of a horror movie ever. Sinister 2 is as good as Sinister or better, that's up to you. Me? I think Sinister 2 is just a bit better. I just loved every thing about this movie. I am almost certain that if Deputy So & So wasn't in this, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did. Shoutout to Deputy & So So, he did a great job and I hope 7 years from now he reads what I typed here. Courtney, Dyan, Zach, and all of the ghost kids were great and I really enjoyed seeing more of them. I was so happy there would be a sequel to Sinister and it did not disappoint. Sinister 3? Idk. It will likely happen someday but if it doesn't happen I will be perfectly fine with that. The ending goes both ways. It could have a 3rd film but if it ends at 2 you won't feel ripped off. I hope that you will go see this movie if YOU want to see it and not let lame sites like rotten tomatoes ruin your chances of going to see a movie that you want to see. So what if bald guys in suits don't like the movie. They aren't you. Sinister 2 is definitely worth seeing. Amazing sequel that truly does match the quality of the first.

Lighter on the terror, thought the new cast sympathetically keeps the tension running.

[quincytheodore · 6/10 · 1 September 2015]

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.

Unwanted sequel is a lesser film in every respect

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 22 May 2016]

SINISTER 2 is an unwanted sequel that carries on the below-par outcome of the first film. As I recall it, the first half of the original SINISTER was an exemplary little thriller, about a guy uncovering the antics of a historical serial killer and the creepy home movies he left behind. Then it all went supernatural and turned into a dumb INSIDIOUS clone.

Unfortunately for the viewer, SINISTER 2 carries on in this same supernatural category, although for some odd reason the filmmakers seem to be more inspired by CHILDREN OF THE CORN here than the original movie. It's unfortunate that nobody in Hollywood tries to be truly creative these days instead of copying what has come previously.

Anyway, this is a typical ghostly B-flick little different from a hundred others. The film is saddled with annoying kid characters for the leads, while the adults fail to act or do much. The sense of dread from the first half of SINISTER, with the creepy music and home movies, is gone here. There are still home movies but they lack the novelty shock value and have been too planned out. SINISTER 2 is a dud, and let's hope they don't bother with a third.

What's the most dangerous? The dark force or the evil father.

[Reno-Rangan · 4/10 · 14 July 2016]

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