Sinister 2

After the gruesome death of the Oswalt family several years ago, former Deputy So & So (James Ransone) retired from the police force and now hunts down the Buguhuul as a private detective. He knows by now that he must destroy all the places where the demon has murdered in order to drive him out for good. He has located another bloody haunt of the Buguhuul in an abandoned farm. But just as he is about to set the dwelling on fire, he discovers that it has been re-inhabited. Here in the middle of nowhere, Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon) has settled down with her two sons, Dylan (Robert Sloan) and Zach (Dartanian Sloan), to escape her abusive husband Clint (Lea Coco) - unaware that they are at the mercy of a much greater danger. The private detective must now try to help the little family before the demon takes possession of one of the boys. But it already seems too late for that...

Sinister 2 is the inevitable sequel to the surprise success of 2012, which was very well received not only by the audience, but also by many critics. The reason for this may have been Scott Derrickson's very atmospheric production, which primarily used classic creepy effects and was able to build extreme tension, especially in its more subtle moments. For the sequel, Derrickson has once again penned the screenplay with C. Robert Cargill. However, he has left the director's chair to Irishman Ciarán Foy, whose debut Citadel was able to thrill critics and horror fans alike.

It is to the writers' and the director's credit that they at least tried not to tell the same story again, but to further develop the myth surrounding the Buguhuul. However, the plotline around Courtney fleeing from her husband simply lacks tension. There are too many scenes in which the plot just ripples along, something that even the gloomy basic atmosphere can do little to change. Once night falls and the children's ghosts appear to show Dylan the murderous home movies that already provided some disturbing moments in Part 1, there could actually be some genuine creepiness. But since the viewer is actually shown everything, the whole thing comes across as rather bland and quickly tiresome. Ghosts that you can see are just nowhere near as scary as the things you can only guess at.

Even when the film really goes in the direction of horror at times, it can only convince to a limited extent. There are a few nice moments, but most of it is just served up too tame and trite for true genre fans. Even the nasty home videos are nowhere near as gruesome in the second go-around as they were in part 1. So, unfortunately, Sinister 2 is another one of those typical sequels that is clearly inferior to its predecessor in almost every respect - in terms of acting, dramaturgy and goosebumps. A few good scenes at least make sure that the movie isn't a complete failure and that horror fans who like it a little tamer will still get their money's worth despite some obvious lengths. Therefore, there is a bottom line: with deductions still worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp