Sinister 2 (2015) - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 23 January 2016

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Sinister 2 - Blu-ray review

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Sinister 2 is not a good film.

At all.

To be clear, it lacks the spark that made the original flick a better than the average horror offering. Screenwriters Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill got lucky with the first film but they choose – here in the second installment – to unravel the mystery and try to explain Bughuul’s methods and use of children to deliver his particular brand of torture-terror. It’s the mistake Insidious 2 made and the results are the same.

This time out, it’s the “Deputy So & So” (James Ransone) show as he, completely obsessed with stopping the evil that put an end to the Oswalts, has gone all vigilante and seeks to burn down the homes where the boogeyman has been. Ransone is a good character actor and his performance was a gem in the original film. Honestly, he’s the best part about this one. Seriously. But it’s not enough to save this one from being completely dismissible.

When Deputy So & So’s research takes him to an isolated farm house in rural Indiana that should be vacant, he’s shocked to discover that an attractive woman named Courtney Collins (Shannyn Sossamon) and her young sons, Dylan and Zach (Robert Daniel Sloan and Dartanian Sloan) are inside. After an awkward introduction, he discovers that they are fleeing Courtney’s abusive husband, Clint (Lea Coco), and he decides to stick around and help them because he knows that death follows if they should ever leave.

With no restraint at all, director Ciarán Foy (Citadel) kills suspense and the film’s initial set-up with an overreliance on jump and startle techniques and makes the “kill” sequences longer, tougher, and lacking. This time the “ghost” children have more of a presence and interact with the twins. Maybe this is in an effort to give more emphasis on their character development. Maybe not. All it does, is drive the narrative into the ground as pads the exposition and destroys the fluidity of the narrative.

The fact is that this sequel should never have been. It’s serviceable only if you think jump scares are what the genre is all about. Explaining the mythos simply kills what made it creepy in the first place. One would think the authors knew this before penning any line of dialogue. Sinister 2 has no real reason to exist outside of a shameless money-grab. It easily destroys what made the original a decent horror film and then continues to tear itself apart with shameless “inspiration” from the works of Stephen King and anything else involving children and corn and horror.

Sinister is much better remembered as a standalone than as a franchise. This is mere filler. Kill it now.

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MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, bloody and disturbing images, and language.
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: Ciarán Foy
Writer: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Cast: James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Robert Daniel Sloan
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: Sinister 2
Memorable Movie Quote: "If you tell anyone, we'll kill you first, and then your whole family, and we'll watch the film over and over and over."
Distributor: Focus Features
Official Site: http://www.sinistermovie.com/
Release Date: August 21, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 12, 2016
Synopsis: A young mother and her twin sons move into a rural house that's marked for death.

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Sinister 2 - Blu-ray review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - January 12, 2016
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD); UV digital copyiTunes digital copy; ; Digital copy
Region Encoding: A

Sinister 2 arrives from Universal Studios Home Entertainment and features a 1080p AVC encoded video and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio. Because this descends into a sort of found footage film with its overreliance on Super 8 films, the transfer has its highs and lows. This is by design, of course. There are plenty of shots that look very good and reveal discerning levels of detail and dimension. When appropriate colors are natural, contrast is well balanced and black levels are notable. Shadow detail is quite good as depth of field in the plethora of low level sequences is gratifying. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack features an immersive array of well-placed sound effects that accentuate the film’s thematic tone and certainly makes this film more enjoyable.

Supplements:

Commentary:

Director Ciarán Foy reveals his secrets to the making of the movie and the franchise with a feature length commentary.

Special Features:

You get extended kill scenes and a glimpse at what was edited out. For die-hard fans only unless you feel that you really, really need a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy code of this movie.