The latest cheap horror from Blumhouse works best when it follows the strengths of the original, but it is less effective when trying to be something else. After an arresting foreshadowing opening, a red-herring religious sidestep gives way to an odd mix of creepy spirit children and a tonally awkward domestic abuse/custody strand. Without the on-screen unravelling of an actor of the calibre of Ethan Hawke that drove the first movie, the mid-section here is particularly dreary, and in spite of some spirited (sorry) and interestingly-staged poltergeist-like activity in the finale, this is generally tepid horror fare. Incredibly, the villain of the piece, the Bughuul, is used in a far less effective way than before. This film brings to the fore the old argument about how children should be used in horror films, as the foregrounding of the child characters - both living and dead - in this sequel gives rise to some harsh situations, but more interesting is the issue of voyeurism and the watching of the 'family deaths' spirit movies that drives the narrative. However, Sinister 2 is not a particularly interesting sequel that adds little to the far more more potent original, and in spite having of one of the more intriguing antagonists in modern horror, maybe this is a tale that has nothing more to be told.
No comments:
Post a Comment