After seeing the trailer for Sinister 2, I made the easy decision to avoid catching it in the theater. There are so many modern horror sequels that take a steep nosedive off of their predecessor’s success and this one appears to be no different, even on the surface. You would think whoever made the trailer would at least make an effort to cloud the the blatant DAMAGE done.

Sinister 2 stars some guy I barely remember from the first one and two kids who are twins I guess. Compared to the first one, it has no mystery. How could it? Sinister was about finding out how it all worked, the rules of the game so to speak. Considering everything is explained by the end of the first movie, the second one didn’t have much of a chance in regards to originality. In Sinister 2 Bughuul, the demon guy, is rarely seen. Instead, the focus is on a slew of “creepy” kids. The cop is goofy, the mother is helpless, and the twins don’t have much chemistry (especially compared to the ones in Goodnight Mommy). Even the evil snuff films shown are mild in comparison to the originals, albeit one of the only reasons to put this piece of junk on.

The best thing I can say about Sinister 2 is it had a decent soundtrack. There is a scene involving a ham radio that briefly touches on numbers stations, creepy hidden cryptic messages broadcast from unknown origins. This is a real life phenomenon with a less malicious explanation, but it got me thinking about a better horror film based on numbers stations called Banshee Chapter. Sinister 2 uses it as a throwaway plot device, but maybe if they based the entire movie around the MORBID sounds flooding the airwaves, then they might have had my attention. Still, the music created from the inhuman voice is a spine-chiller. Bottom line, don’t watch Sinister 2 unless you are obsessed with the first film to the point where any resemblance will leave you satisfied.

2 Bughuuls out of 5

★★☆☆☆

P.S. Watch Banshee Chapter for something unique!