USA 2015
September 17, 2015
Directed by: Ciaran Foy
Writing credits: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Principle actors: Shannyn Sossamon, James Ransone, Nicholas King, Tate Ellington, Dartanian Sloan, Robert Daniel Sloan
After the events of Sinister (2012), the unnamed deputy (Ransone) has since lost his job and has been spending his time trying to discover how to stop the demon Bhughul. He finds a connection between certain houses and mysterious deaths which leads him across the country in a quest to save other families from a terrible fate. This is how he stumbles upon Courtney Collins (Sossamon), a young mother of two twin boys (Dartanian Sloan, Robert Daniel Sloan) who are hiding away in a farmhouse with a dark past. The deputy finds himself drawn to the family and races to stop the inevitable tragedy that awaits them.
As with most sequels, Sinister II is rather lackluster when compared to its predecessor. While Sinister had the benefit of a somewhat original idea and a decent lead actor (Ethan Hawke), Sinister II spends a great deal of time rehashing the mystery of the first film and bringing nothing particularly interesting to the table. At times it seems as though it wanted to be camp with Ransone’s character seemingly fitting the bill as the clueless and goofy protagonist a la Bruce Campbell in The Evil Dead (1981), but it unfortunately fails to take the risk and the result is neither funny nor truly frightening. With eye-roll worthy jump scares and a plethora of uninspired deaths, Sinister II is not what anyone would consider a successful horror movie. Give this one a skip. ()