The second film in the Sinister series delivers horror and a good plot all in one

Story by Adam Winn, Contributing writer

With  Halloween and fall right around the corner, a lot of people are looking forward to the release of new scary movies to watch.

One of the first films to be released for the annual Halloween horror movie watchers is “Sinister 2.”

This movie is the sequel to the popular 2012 horror film “Sinister.”

     Knowing that most horror movie sequels, like most sequels in general, don’t live up to the original films, I did not go in expecting much, but I left the film with a surprisingly positive opinion.

Whether you are a seasoned horror movie lover or not, this film gives you the same satisfying scares and jumps like the original did and is worth the watch.

Similar to the first one, this movie centers around a family, but this time, the family consists of a recently separated mother and her two sons who have just moved into a rural country house out in the middle of nowhere.

The mother is trying to hide from her rich, powerful and abusive ex-husband, who is also the father of her children.

Unbeknownst to her, the house she just moved into and the old church in her backyard are haunted.

    The events in this movie pick up a few months after the first film.

The deputy, played by James Ransone, reprises his role from the original and is now a private investigator and has been investigating all the murders linked to Bughuul,  the “boogeyman” from the first film.

     One thing that I’m glad they did with this film is they put the movie primarily through the children’s perspective, revealing that they can constantly see the ghosts of the dead children from the previous families and Bughuul.

The adults typically can’t see either the ghost children or the creature itself, unless Bughuul allows them too.

    Another key plot point I like that they brought back from the first movie is the use of the Super 8 homemade snuff films.

This time though, the writers actually explain the significance of why they are used in the movie other than just as a scare tactic.

     To give you an example of what to expect and not give away too many spoilers, one of the homemade films titled “Christmas Morning,” involves a family being buried alive in a snow storm and another one titled “Kitchen Remodel,” depicts another family being electrocuted.

So if the thought of scenes like those makes you feel super grossed out, then maybe this isn’t the film for you.

An additional thing that I enjoyed about this movie is that they used Bughuul more prominently in this film than they did in the first one.     

He consistently pops up in scenes to try and scare the audience and the creature does a pretty good job doing so.

I have to admit there were a couple times I almost jumped when watching the scenes he was present in.

Before going to watch this film it’s best to have watched the first film because this is a direct sequel to the first one and the plots and characters are interconnected.

The overall script was pretty good. I actually enjoyed the storyline and never felt bored while watching the film.

With that being said, you’re most likely not going to walk away from this blown away or thinking that it was super original.

If you go in, like I did, with low expectations, I think you won’t leave disappointed.

The acting is well done, especially from the returning deputy. He brings some much needed comic relief to an otherwise dark story.

The actors who play the family really make you care and sympathize with their characters and you find yourself rooting for their safety.

The current IMDb rating for this sequel is 5.5 out of 10.

I think that rating is a little unfair and that people who have given those bad reviews are taking the film more serious than it actually is.

Is this the best horror film you are ever going to see? No, most likely not, but for a sequel, it’s not half bad and is overall quite disturbing.

If you loved the first one or like scary movies in general, then you are probably going to like this one too.