Me and horror movies, like I even have to say it. When the first Sinister movie came out, I had no idea what I was getting into. In a way, the first entry of almost all movies are just so original, it seems impossible to top it. I felt like the other Ethan Hawke horror movie, The Purge, did a better job of this than Sinister. The story continues with the deputy from the first movie having left his job with the force and doing private investigation, researching the horror when he has free time. In some ways, it is impressive that he’s figured out a great deal of the mystery, yet the trouble lies with his inability to find a viable solution. Once he finds the homes, there is no clear answer as to what to do next.
Horror movies can be a tough sell. Jump scares (things that take you by surprise) are easy enough. To tell a story that leaves the viewer flummoxed is far more challenging. This movie had the chance to do the latter. It did not. The Paranormal Activity movies vary from this sort of movie by adding to the lore and giving the viewer more to digest. Those movies aren’t done perfectly and some of the sequels have been a complete and utter waste of my time. This sequel to Sinister falls somewhere in the middle. The deputy is able to unearth some new truth, but it also leaves much of the story untouched. It is hard to suspend disbelief and not believe that the deputy couldn’t have found someone to help him diagnose the larger issue. I would say this is worth a matinee price, not an evening price. It kept me diverted for a little bit, but didn’t do as much as it could have.
Suspense movies that masquerade as horror movies are still scary, though never nearly as scary as they could be. The story behind The Gift isn’t terrifying on the surface, but the idea of a bully being bullied has a certain ring to it that makes all of us that were bullied, even a little, feel some justice, while shining a light on what happens to those people when they grow up. The acting was middling. The main actress, the one the story seemed to hinge around, never drew me in. Jason Bateman pretty much plays himself in whatever movie he’s in, though he was more of a jerk in this one, but still the atypical mean white guy. Joel Edgerton was quite sympathetic, even when the story reveals itself, I still feel more badly for him than anyone else.
I can’t say I’d highly recommend this movie, but I do want to stop and sort of digest what I saw. The critics, to some degree, raved about the pacing and suspense, but the only thing that kept me engaged was the devolution of Joel Edgerton’s Gordo. What happens to someone when they get bullied to the point that he’s pulled out of school? What happens to the kids that do the bullying? The real turning point for me, and the wife, was the reveal that Bateman’s character is a bully in all facets of his life, thus beginning the question of how the wife never noticed what a sleaze she was married to. I mean, do bullies just always win because they’re bullies? I know where I work, the worst person is the one running the show and she does just bully everyone. Even if you stand up to a bully, that doesn’t stop that person. There are so many people who just bulldoze their way through life, I often wonder what makes their needs and desires more important than mine. Why do I have to acquiesce, to fold like a wicker table, to other peoples’ demands? And somehow, in society, I think people would still root for Jason Bateman’s bully because he’s a ‘winner.’ Kind of like Tom Brady, to some degree. You have to be a jerk to win at life and bullies are just jerks, aren’t they? Regardless of what causes them to act that way, they just think it’s okay and we just ignore or do what they want to make it stop. This movie had me thinking more about bullying than the horror and that says something.
