Whether you thought Scott Derricksons Sinister (2012) was a brilliantly conceived ghost story or a trawl through third-hand ideas, you have to admit that this sequel falls prey to the rules of diminishing returns. Its another of those films where a different set of characters somehow end up the same situations as their predecessors, and the filmmakers attempt to wring thrills out of the narrative before it becomes laughably trite. Weve seen this approach before, and Pet Sematary 2 is not a movie you want to emulate. Whereas the originals lead character was a washed-up true crime writer, here the filmmakers resort to caricature and give us a custody battling young mom wholl do anything to protect her 2 young sons. They even stoop to bringing back the Deputy from the first film, who has apparently gone off the deep end, spending time in confessional in between attempting to torch demonic houses.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
