Sinister 2 joins the lineup of 2015's bad horror films, and by now, I feel like I'm playing darts with mortar shells; it almost doesn't seem fair to review the regurgitated, seizure-inducing horror that typically makes it into 2,000-plus theaters. However, in a year where the bad horror offends me (either morally or as an assault to the tiniest modicum of my intelligence), I find that Sinister 2 is a bad film I have affection for, a clump of mismatched ideas that could have worked with more focus.
The sequel follows the deputy from the first movie (James Ransone) as he continues investigating a trail of murders committed by the demon Bughuul, who possesses children to ritualistically kill their family members. The deputy's search takes him to an abandoned Mississippi farmhouse, but unfortunately, Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon) and her two sons, Dylan and Zach (Robert and Dartanian Sloan) have begun squatting there, as Courtney's currently in a custody dispute with the boys' abusive father (Lea Coco) and needs a place to hide from the law.
Dylan is plagued by gruesome nightmares, but he meets a ghostly boy (Lucas Jade Zumann) who tells him that if he watches all the film reels of the murdered families, one every night, the nightmares will eventually stop. For a fan of horror (he and Zach are enthralled by Night of the Living Dead), Dylan apparently hasn't seen enough films to know that pale kids in church suits are creepy news, so he goes along with it, finding that the sinister presence isn't leaving, but rather growing stronger. One would think at this point, Dylan would "just say no" and head for the stairs, but the script has a torture quota and the demonic projector/phonograph combo is rented by the hour.
The original used the film reels not only to showcase Bughuul's evil and make some grainy gore, but perverted an idyllic look at family life to parallel Ellison's (Ethan Hawke) own perversion, letting his obsession with becoming a famous crime novelist destroy his relationship with his wife and kids. The sequel decides to make a carnival out of the affair, pushing the ante on how bloody and over-the-top the torture can be, resembling Saw more than it does a psychological thriller.
Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of the original, is replaced by Ciarán Foy, who's obviously trying to make a Derrickson film, but is obviously missing the mark. Derrickson's Sinister featured scenes shot with sparse light, composing the frame well enough to where one felt the engulfing darkness, but could also make sense of what's going on. Foy just makes these scenes incomprehensible; the only way to figure out what's happening is to wait for a creepy face and a violin squeal.
I'm reminded of many movies when watching Sinister 2. The deputy investigating a supernatural series of murders feels like Deliver Us From Evil; the cavalcade of ghostly children propped against a cornfield brings to mind Children of the Corn; the two small-town boys coming of age due to dark events is Mud. Did I also mention that the deputy is the one positive male figure in Courtney's life, and is around her age, and may have the hots fo-okay, I'm done.
Sinister 2 has good ideas: I particularly enjoy how the film showcases Bughuul's evil from Dylan's perspective, and if the film took its time in revealing the evil, disguising it with wonder or a childlike mystery, the perversion would be well-earned. The film also tries, like in the original, to use the supernatural to parallel real-life issues, such as parental abuse, or coping with grief. However, when juxtaposed against a bumbling deputy, and spooky computer desktops, the effect dies quicker than expected. I like the cast, but I can't help but feel that each person thinks they're in a different movie, playing a different character. This all culminates in a mess, a mess full of variety, but a mess nonetheless.
I worry the franchise is devolving into a Final Destination-style sideshow, but there are possibilities that could be explored. Let's get Derrickson back and make the stories personal; a loosely-connected anthology could accomplish this well. In the meantime, Sinister 2 is good for a marathon of bad horror sequels; pair this with Friday the 13th: Part 3 or Leprechaun 4: In Space.
Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.
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