I could say that Sinister II was by far one of the most expected horror movies of this year. It turns out that this movie did not really meet the eager audience's expectations for several reasons. Firstly, the horrific elements present in the first movie are just not that scary in this version: The tapes - although very creatively done -seemed to be quite of a "stretch". They neither added something to the story nor were scary. The fact they also didn't look as homemade as the ones in Sinister I only lessened their spooky nature.
Mr. Boogie is much more exposed and doesn't act as much under the shades. In this version, Bughuul seems more like one of those cliché-type of horror entities that shows up behind the main character (as it naturally does in this version) with the intention of just going unseen.
The scene where Mr. Boogie suddenly shows up behind Deputy "So and So" is extremely unnecessary (besides of being cliché). The good and old Bughuul would never subject himself to such exposure and suddenly hack into his computer. And, how come at the end that kid was still able to text Deputy asking for help? Why didn't Bughuul just stop it from happening?
I must give credit to the sound effects for all these scenes though.
Also, emphasizing the kids' roles was a risky move.It could have been great if it was done well, what unfortunately, wasn't the case. These kids' persuasive techniques to trap other kids into this "enchant" weren't just convincing.
This movie takes a perspective, which they do not commit to fully explain. When I heard that this version was coming from the standpoint of a "chosen" child, I wanted to understand what happened to Stephanie from the original version. And guess what? I still don't understand how a normal abduction happens. How would they persuade an only child?
This version felt like we were watching a special occasion, full of exceptions, while the first one only depicted how things happened at their natural rate. The fact that this family was already going through some internal issues turns this case into a "special occasion". It might be only me - but I didn't enjoy it. Don't take me wrong, I think the idea of addressing family issues was a great idea. However, this topic added a singularity to this case, that doesn't apply to the other occasions. I don't know how abduction takes place in traditional families.
The weakest point of this movie - the ending. Children that can show up anywhere in the blink of an eye and can't find a family trapped in a house? How's that even consistent? Although the radius from the very ending is an interesting artifact, it is also an odd component to the movie. It doesn't add too much.
This movie had strong points that could have been wisely used to produce something as comparable as the original version. Children's perspective, family issues, along with other themes addressed, would have produced a high-quality movie if they had been well used. If producers had produced something consistent throughout, where they combined different themes that could become conflicting (as they did), the movie would have turned out to be much better.
It definitely leaves a lot to desire in comparison to Sinister I.
5.5/10
15 out of 19 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Tell Your Friends