It’s been said that when a sequel hits for any series of
films that the second one always falls far short of the original. Most of that
comes from the expectations of those going to see the movie, the fans of the
first film who more often than not are no longer shocked, surprised or stunned
by the things seen the first time around. It’s a burden most second films in
any franchise will suffer. For the second SINISTER film the movie isn’t as bad
as some sequels but still falls far short of the original.
Two storylines combine this time around. The first involves
the deputy from the first film (identified as Deputy So & So in the
credits), the deputy who was helping author Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) in the
first film. The deputy has been following up on the clues left behind that
Ellison had provided. Links as to why the events played out as they did, why
select families were chosen, have been found and he is trying to end the
murderous path discovered in the first film.
The second storyline involves a young mother named Courtney
(Shannyn Sossamon) living in a secluded farm house with her two young sons. The
boys seem like exact opposites with one named Zach a bit on the cruel side and
the other, Dylan, a more sensitive youngster. It is Dylan who is approached by
the wraith like children who were victims of Bughuul, the terrifying figure
from the first movie. They convince him to watch their movies, movies where
they are seen killing their families. How this will affect him down the line is
yet to be seen.
The two stories come together when the deputy, no longer
working as a law officer, coming to the farm house. It was the last location he
has for occurrences that involved Bughuul, a ritualistic slaying of a religious
family in the church building out back. He’s stunned to find a family living
here having been told the building was vacant. Courtney explains that a friend
of hers allowed her to use the place for the time being until she could find
another. She’s hiding the reasons for her being there but doesn’t reveal them
just yet.
The movies continue to be seen and eventually the reason for
Courtney and the boys staying there comes out. Her husband was an abusive jerk
but highly influential with the locals politically and in law enforcement. The
deputy steps in to prevent them from taking the boys using his knowledge of the
law and the chance that it could blow back in their faces. This makes him an
enemy of the husband and a potential love interest for Courtney.
As this unfolds the pressure is put on Dylan to watch the
movies again and again. The wraiths are trying to get him to the point of
watching the last film and then adding his to the collection. Interactions with
the deputy may have him thinking twice. Or perhaps something else is going on
here. With Bughuul behind it all the odds are something will happen.
As I said, the movie is well made, it looks good and the
story line is actually fairly inventive. But at the same time having jumped and
been startled by scenes in the first film they’re more expected here and when
they occur the jumps just aren’t there. That’s a problem with “jump” films. The
distractions used to make you feel safe no longer leave you feeling safe at any
time and instead you know the jump is coming. It deadens the scares but still
can make your skin crawl.
All in all this isn’t a bad film and it’s sad that it will
always be compared to the first. I’m not sure if a sequel would be a good thing
or if it should end with this chapter. My opinion is that it should. But I’m
sure that if the movie made enough money for a big return on investment the
odds are that we’ll see Bughuul again in the near future. The question is can
he ever be scary again?
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