Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
James Ransone | ... | Ex-Deputy So & So | |
Shannyn Sossamon | ... | Courtney Collins | |
Robert Daniel Sloan | ... | Dylan Collins (as Robert Sloan) | |
Dartanian Sloan | ... | Zach Collins | |
Lea Coco | ... | Clint Collins | |
Tate Ellington | ... | Dr. Stomberg | |
John Beasley | ... | Father Rodriguez | |
Lucas Jade Zumann | ... | Milo | |
Jaden Klein | ... | Ted | |
![]() |
Laila Haley | ... | Emma |
Caden Marshall Fritz | ... | Peter | |
![]() |
Olivia Rainey | ... | Catherine |
Nicholas King | ... | Bughuul (as Nick King) | |
Michael B. Woods | ... | The Creeper (as Michael Woods) | |
Tory O. Davis | ... | Security Guard |
In a farmhouse near a corn field where Ellison Oswait lived, the boy Dylan has nightmares and is visited by ghostly children led by the boy Milo. Dylan lives with his mother Courtney Collins, who has just left her abusive husband, and his brother Zach 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 is investigating the crime spree of Bughuul 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 ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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.