Sinister 2 fails to deliver scares or substance – 1 star out of 5

It seems that in this day and age, every successful horror film gets a follow-up, regardless of whether or not it actually deserves it. The recently released Sinister 2, directed by Ciaran Foy, fails miserably at recreating the elements that made its predecessor a success. Instead, the audience receives a scare-less sequel that lacks any form of originality or merit.

The movie follows a reprising James Ransone, who recreates the character Deputy So & So, who seeks to uncover the reasons behind a series of interconnected and ritualistic family murders and missing children cases. He visits the scene of a farmhouse massacre, where he meets the estranged Shannyn Sossamon (Courtney Collins), a domestic abuse victim who is struggling for the legal custody of her two sons. The boys are visited periodically by the ghosts of children who were captured by Bughuul, a Slipknot-esque boogey man that has transcended history through images and texts.

The main problem with Sinister 2 is that it simply isn’t scary. It was most likely made as an excuse to create more of the super 8-filmed murder scenes that made the original famous. Even Bughuul doesn’t look as creepy as he did in the first movie, and he seldom appears only for a few cheap jump scares. The film also lacks Ethan Hawke, whose character in 2012’s Sinister made the whole experience both believable and scary. The absence of a relatable lead role sucks all of the potential terror out of the movie and instead provides the audience a childish point of view. It’s very unlikely for an adult audience to walk away with a lasting impression.

Sinister 2 simply falls short on too many levels. Its characters are as shallow as they are predictable and, of course, only the likeable ones survive. Meanwhile, the film shamelessly exploits the unique and genuinely creepy found-footage scenes of its predecessor while successfully making no sense at all. At times, it plays more like a poorly told romance story than a horror film, and fans of the original should definitely steer clear.