The scary horror story which drove "Sinister" gets turned around into a family drama which takes over "Sinister 2."
The family issues in "Sinister 2" are scary issues to face, but with the impending threat of Buguuhl, it's difficult to know which issue to concentrate on.
Ex-deputy So-and-so, played by James Ransone, has pieced some of the mystery of Buguuhl together and has set his sights on burning down all the houses which are associated with the curse of Buguuhl.
Ransone is these goofy, yet smart character he was in the first film. It's different seeing him out of uniform, unless you paid close attention to him in the first one you may be confused. He does have a great performance in this film, which continues on being a bit charming.
As he arrives to a new house, so-and-so find a family living in the house.
Courtney, played by Shannyn Sossaman, and her two children — Dylan, played by Robert Daniel Sloan, and Zachary, played by Dartanian Slaon, are running from family problems of their own.
Sossaman is fantastic as the caring mother. She's charismatic and quirky.
Robert Daniel Sloan and real life brother Dartanian Sloan are creepy. There is something about a quiet kid that makes him or her creepy, but there's something about two almost identical kids that makes them even creepier. They are great as their characters.
As So-and-so continues trying to piece together how to stop Buguuhl he finds himself involved with the family.
The story of the family overtakes the horror story of "Sinister 2" and the menacing nature of Buguuhl,
The focus being on So-and-so and his interactions with Courtney distract from the horror aspects of the two boys.
They do a great job of being complimentary to each other, but the suspense is lacking, the story is too stretched and the sub-story is just as powerful as the horror story so they compete with each other.
The ending ends this section of the story leaving the audience unsure of the safety of the characters. A third part may be needed to explain what happens next because it's left unfinished.
I give this horror film 2 out of 5 Popcorns. The acting is great, the casting is great, but the storyline is so fractured that it becomes confusing as to what the audience should be caring about the most. The film needed much more focus and more suspense to bring a horror element to the film, other than the multiple jump scares it has.
"Sinister 2" opens in theaters Aug. 28.
