I’m going to shoot straight with you here, I did not enjoy Sinister. I know everyone did, and I’m a big fat weirdo or whatever, but I’m sorry, it just didn’t work for me. Some things about it I did find effective, such as the very few segments of literal found footage it featured, they were creepy. But as an overall movie, I found it to be lacking in almost every regard. It would be an understatement for me to suggest that I had little-to-no hopes for Sinister 2, and, I still think it was pretty underwhelming, but in comparison, I think the sequel is a superior movie. 

One of the faults I found in the first movie, is, like I mentioned, the most effective bits of the movie were few and far-between. The sequel remedies this by ramping up the amount of “tapes” the protagonist views. The protagonist, by the way, is the Deputy from the first film, still played by the awesome James Ransone. So, Sinister 2 at least has that going for it. Does it work this time? I mean, as a whole movie, do all of the pieces fit together nicely, and are they presented in a coherent, entertaining package? I would say no. I found it to be far more tolerable than the first go-round, but I think there’s just something about this mythology that just doesn’t “work” if that makes any sense. It feels as if they’re trying to force a franchise, when, in all honesty, the material their working with just doesn’t lend itself to such a thing.

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this is an awful movie. If you were to spend little to no money renting this on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you’re not going to be filled with rage, demanding your Redbox dollar back. It’s competently photographed and edited, there is a beginning, a middle, and an end, and I suppose somebody out there may be creeped out by stuff like this, but I can’t give this movie a strong recommendation, unless, maybe it’s a date night thing, and your significant other isn’t that “into” the horror genre. Otherwise, you can safely give Sinister 2 a pass. And certainly, if like me, you were not one of the legions people who praised the first movie, Sinister 2 will do mostly nothing to rectify that situation.

Sinister 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. It features a full HD 1080p video transfer, as well as a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. A Dolby Digital 2.0 track is also available. Special features include Deleted Scenes, a “Making Of” featurette, and a director’s commentary. As a Blu-ray exclusive, there are some extended kill scenes. Sinister 2 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD wherever you buy home video releases.