Movie Review: Sinister 2

Well Sinister 2 was messed up. A movie where a monster makes children kill their family is gonna be a little twisted. But, it wasn’t as good as the first one, Sinister. Not surprising.

The lawnmower scene from Sinister still freaks me out. I expected, hoped, Sinister 2 would be equally terrifying. It did have some disturbing moments but I didn’t find them as memorable as the lawnmower scene. Sinister 2 was watchable but not spectacular.

I think with Sinister, I hadn’t seen a movie like it before. I wasn’t expecting it to be part snuff film- making the movie far more memorable. With Sinister 2, I expected the murder films so it wasn’t as jarring. No, snuff films are disturbing no matter what. I can’t seem to make up my mind about this movie.

It did make me jump so, score one for Sinister 2. I like jump-scares as long as they’re not overused. I don’t think the snuff films were the problem. More like, I wasn’t sucked into the story.

The plot wasn’t terrible though it had some distracting unanswered questions. The tie to the first movie was weak. The deputy from the first movie was at the center of this one.

Sinister 2 didn’t do a good job of explaining how the former deputy started burning down houses to protect people from the bogyman. He had all these crime scene photos. How was he able to keep those after he stopped being a deputy?

Why would Baghuul bother him in the first place? The former deputy didn’t have any children. He didn’t live in a cursed house. Was he angry the man was burning down his traps? Baghuul haunted him but we got off-the-clock demon. He didn’t put any effort into scaring away the former deputy.

I wished they did more with Baghuul. The movie relied to heavily on his creepy looks. His scenes didn’t make any sense. 
Sinister 2 started in the middle of the haunting. The children was already talking to ghosts. Didn’t care for this approach. I felt like I missed something. I needed the movie to back up a couple of days.
Is there a new trend with telling horror stories from a child’s perspective? First Insidious 3 and now Sinister 2. I feel both movies would’ve been way better if they were told from an adult’s perspective. The mom didn’t even know about the ghost children until the end. One of the boys was going into the basement every night to watch a murder movie. Why didn’t she hear him? The two boys were adorable but their acting was…adequate. 
That expression though…love it!
And then there were the ghost children. They weren’t the least bit frightening. The children were far more terrifying in the first movie. Sinister 2 hinted that the dead children where luring the lives ones out of fear of Baghuul. I wanted more on that. Baghuul forced these children to kill their families and then took them away. Why would they willingly work with him? Unless, the children all came from messed up families where they all secretly wanted to kill their parents and siblings? 
Sinister 2 is making me think so it’s not all bad. 
Horror isn’t all about ghosts and gore. Well played Sinister 2 for tapping into real life horror. The mom and her two boys were on the run from an abusive husband/father. The mom couldn’t do anything against him because the douche was too well connected. What kind of  mess is that?! The man sends his child to the hospital and the mom has to fight for custody of her children. The man was awful. That family was messed up. That story line worked. 
That twist, though, towards the end… Well played. Sinister 2 tried to do something different.
The movie wasn’t as lazy as The Woman in Black 2 but it wasn’t as disturbing as Sinister. Given the state of horror movies, I’m satisfied if a film is watchable. I would’ve liked more from Sinister 2 but I didn’t leave the theater thinking I wasted my money.