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Sinister 2
16 Plays2 days ago
Join Nicholas and Mercedes as they continue (and wrap up) their sinister journey with 2015's Sinister 2! They also discuss Arachnophobia, their shared fear of spiders. As well as some new movies they've seen, including Final Destination: Bloodlines, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and Friendship.
Stay tuned to the very end, where they announce the next set of movies they will be covering. Hint: it involves zombies!
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Transcript
Introduction and Memorial Day Recording
00:01:12
Speaker
What is up party people? We are Morbid Curiosities bringing you another great episode today. I'm Nicholas Ewers and with me is the lightweight champion of the world, the morbid mistress of mayhem herself.
00:01:24
Speaker
Mercedes Martinez. Who are these party people you're talking about? i feel like I can't hang anymore at my my delicate age here. It's the fans, you know, this episode isn't coming out on Memorial Day, but for a peek behind the curtain, we're recording. Today's Memorial Day, right? I'm getting the right holiday.
00:01:43
Speaker
Yeah, you are. i I even keep thinking that I'm going to say the wrong one, too. So yeah, but Memorial Day it is. You know, it's a real nice and fine day. It's an early record. Everything's feeling good. Mercedes, how how are you feeling today?
00:02:00
Speaker
I'm feeling pretty decent. i love when we get to record first thing in the morning. i know this is what you you look forward to as well. You get up and automatically head to your computer. So we're here. We're here. We're ready.
00:02:16
Speaker
Yeah, its it feels good. We're both feeling good. So let's just but's just jump right into this
Thoughts on Sinister 2 vs. the Original
00:02:24
Speaker
now. So last week we covered Sinister and this episode is on Sinister 2.
00:02:32
Speaker
So I had said before that i really, really liked Sinister when I first watched it. And then when I finally watched the second one, I did not like it.
00:02:44
Speaker
And when we did watch the first one, wasn't a fan. Like I just felt really disconnected from the film itself. I don't know why.
00:02:54
Speaker
i really enjoyed it before. So I don't know what happened now. Yeah, that really caught me off guard, actually. i i thought you were really going to sing its praises on the episode. I was listening back today. episode dropped today, actually, on the day we're recording.
00:03:10
Speaker
um We took a little bit of time off, folks. I did, too. so It was strange that when we were recording, i was just in a state where I'm thinking, what do I say about this film that I i can say that I love? Because I did use that term before, I believe.
00:03:27
Speaker
but I couldn't. i I enjoyed the storyline. enjoyed the characters in there. It just didn't work for me this time around. However, watching Sinister 2, have no idea why.
00:03:41
Speaker
i enjoyed it a little bit more. and Not to say that I like it more than the first one. I still like the first one more. This one has some ups and downs with it. But I actually enjoyed it a little bit more.
00:03:53
Speaker
You have, what's his name, James Ransone again in here as Deputy So-and-so. What is his real name in here? Do they do they say his name? Because I can't remember.
00:04:05
Speaker
No, I paid attention real close, and then I looked it up online. i was just thinking, like they they I had to have missed it, but no, they never give him a name. He introduces himself as a private investigator and then gives his backstory and doesn't give anything more than that.
00:04:24
Speaker
And I think maybe they continuously refer to him as the deputy throughout the movie. Yeah, even looking it up online to see the um the cast's actual names, it just says deputy as his role in here.
00:04:39
Speaker
I think I saw Deputy So-and-so on the letterbox page, and I thought, like, guys, you're taking that. They don't even call him that in this movie. They called him that in the last movie.
00:04:52
Speaker
So it's weird that he's credited Deputy in the first movie and Deputy So-and-so in the second movie. It's like, guys, that's from the other movie. He's not called that in this one.
Subtitle Inaccuracies Frustration
00:05:03
Speaker
A funny thing too is um not to jump ahead. It's just a quick fact that I noticed that was a little funny. um I was watching this with subtitles and the character Milo in here when um the kid Dylan was talking to him.
00:05:21
Speaker
One random sentence said, good night, Milo, but it was spelled M-Y-L-O. But all of the other times the captions came up, it was M-I-L-O. So I don't know what was happening there.
00:05:37
Speaker
I have a buddy that ah does sound editing and like foaling work, sound design work in the film industry. And he was telling me that when it comes to subtitles, I think it's 60 to 70% accuracy they have to have. So that's 30 to 40%. They're allowed to get wrong.
00:05:59
Speaker
And it's pretty noticeable actually how subtly they get things wrong where they'll, shorten what people are saying down to something a lot smaller or have words straight up be different or have the spelling be slightly off. it's It should just be 100%. Why isn't your job just aim for 100%?
00:06:23
Speaker
Exactly, because when it's wrong, i notice it and it bothers me. i had that uncomfortable feeling throughout the rest of the film. just They did not spell his name right.
00:06:35
Speaker
Why is it that one time? why is it awkward? i was That gave me a little bit of more amusement out of this movie. so Weird little side note on
Critique on Sinister 2's Lack of Subtlety
00:06:45
Speaker
that. Also, i don't remember if we said it. I tend to forget. Spoilers for Sinister 2. Oops, sorry. The most precious movie.
00:06:55
Speaker
Sorry, guys, if we spoiled any you know intimate details about this. I know, my bad. um What did you think of this film? Because this was the first time you watched it or you watched this one before. I can't remember. I'm sorry.
00:07:11
Speaker
This was my ah my first time i was a virgin to Sinister 2. These eyes had not witnessed it. These ears had not heard it. Ooh, what did you think then? We got a virgin opinion coming up.
00:07:26
Speaker
Going into this, I was really going to have my knives out for this one, but I thought you were going to join me on this ride, and it sounds like you're not going to, so I might not be as aggressive towards it as I was as i was planning on, but yeah, I thought this movie was pretty bad.
00:07:47
Speaker
i think it might be to me at least the worst movie that we've covered on the podcast it's a toss-up between this and all hollows eve and all hollows eve wasn't even like aiming to be a movie in the way that this was aiming to be a movie i mean this was aiming to be sequel to a very successful horror film at least i think sinister was pretty successful I feel like this movie doesn't understand the things that work about Sinister.
00:08:21
Speaker
it tries to give backstory to these kids and it really puts focus on these kids. And it doesn't leave anything up to imagination in the way that the first Sinister did. It it lacks a lot of subtlety and nuance. It really shows you things that it shouldn't show you. And I think in a lot of ways, if you if you're somebody who holds the movies to canon and think like sequels ruin what comes before it, then...
00:08:56
Speaker
I would say Sinister 2 kind of ruins Sinister. it really is a movie that... it It spends its whole time answering questions that I feel nobody was really asking No, I agree. um like This one, it's it's not my favorite film.
00:09:16
Speaker
I do still agree that it's a bad film. It just felt like, if this makes sense, it was only the middle section of a storyline. It didn't really feel like it had a solid beginning and a solid ending to me. I think the only thing that I like about this film is ah James Ransone.
00:09:41
Speaker
I just like his acting. I think he's a funny guy. And everyone else in here, i don't know, it was strange. i agree with you what you're saying about the kids. um All the dead kids in here, i thought it was strange that they were able to be seen by both kids. I understand why they were just trying to, you know, manipulate the the good twin.
00:10:06
Speaker
In turn, the the evil twin that they did want to have join them ah would actually get to that like angered stage that he needed to be in to kill the office family.
00:10:18
Speaker
But I just didn't like how the kids were included in this a little more. i don't i don't know. Yeah. how the kids in our reality are in dialogue with the spirit kids, like literal dialogue with each other. It's very heavy-handed. That's what I mean by it like lacking nuance. It's very... We're going to just...
00:10:44
Speaker
show you everything and it's going to all, yeah, i don't know I don't I don't want to like rag on it too hard, but what's it called? I do agree with you. Deputy So-and-so, like his character. I find him interesting. I don't know if he's enough to carry a movie. I think he works really at best as he does in Sinister where he's a ah a big supporting- Yeah, big supporting character, a sidekick to Ethan Hawke. i don't He doesn't have the the the confidence, the presence, or the verve, almost. like Ethan Hawke is fucking magnetic. That first family in that first movie, they feel pretty real.
00:11:30
Speaker
It feels like they're in a lived-in experience, and I don't fully buy that with this family. This family also feels like they're from... decades ago they just live in indiana i get like indiana is kind of you know not the most progressive state but it's also not the people people don't seem like they're from the fifty s or whatever it the family felt kind of out of date for what i think is a contemporary film
00:12:02
Speaker
They did. The way the mom was dressing and then even her two sons, they always had flannels on. Even when you see the dad, he just has like that slick to the side haircut or so. so yeah I thought that was a little off.
00:12:17
Speaker
The house looking like that, that's a different story because no one had lived in the house, but the character shouldn't have matched that. What are some things that really worked for you about this movie?
Character and Plot Issues in Sinister 2
00:12:28
Speaker
i I like the beginning where the mom, she is ah in the grocery store and she has her two kids. They're playing around. But this guy is just, you know, eyeballing the fuck out of her.
00:12:43
Speaker
And... She, you know, tells her kids, do you remember what I told you when I say or what to do when I say rutabaga um or whatever she said? And they just said, yeah, run away something.
00:12:57
Speaker
So I like the fact that they had a little, you know, a security plan in place. I think that's very smart. I feel like every family should have that. So um not even just because of the situation that they're in, she's trying to, you know, get away from her abusive husband.
00:13:16
Speaker
And I guess he knows he or he has all these friends in high places who is tracking his wife down so he can get her and his two boys back. but she's trying to just make sure they're safe. And i like that scene in particular because you see that she is trying to be protective of her kids and she doesn't seem like she's ah stupid woman who's going to just keep falling for every little act or um thing that her husband does or say it or her ex-husband does or says.
00:13:51
Speaker
She does go back to him later, but that was because he got um the sheriff involved. So I don't know. That scene itself I did like. ah Yeah, I think that's it. Just her the or that intro scene and then James Ransone because he was trying to be more of a stronger figure in here. He always plays a wiener, though. In every film he's in, he plays a dork, which I fucking love.
00:14:19
Speaker
I'm not sure if I've seen him outside of the Sinister movies. He was in the ah new um the remake of It. He played Eddie the dweeb. oh Oh, yeah. You're right.
00:14:33
Speaker
That's a good catch. I didn't even realize that. and I think he was in Black Phone, too. Oh, he's just gotten typecast as like a dweeb. he He definitely was. In Black Phone, he wasn't. He was just like this cokehead or something. But every other movie he's in, he's he's just a little lame guy. And he was trying to be, you know, there for Dylan because he sees that something is wrong with him. He does end up finding out that the dad was abusive towards him. he ultimately shows that he isn't this strong character.
00:15:11
Speaker
like physically, because once the dad does come back, he beats the shit out of him. So um I like his character. i kind of want to agree with you. And i want to add on to what you're saying as well.
00:15:25
Speaker
I think this movie works best in the parts where it's not being a sequel to Sinister, where it is focusing on these characters and And it's about this mom looking after her two kids trying to hide from and abusive ex-husband while this detective comes in who's trying to solve some type of case. And the vibe of all of it is really good. When it becomes a sequel to Sinister, that's where it kind of starts to ah fall apart for me, which is weird because it's called Sinister 2.
00:16:00
Speaker
But I just don't buy... So everything you're saying works for me up until the moment it's detective so-and-so in... I don't know if it's a hotel room or his house or whatever the deal is.
00:16:14
Speaker
And his computer starts going haywire. And then Bagul's symbol comes up. And I was like, is Bagul following people? This isn't his thing. This isn't what Bagul does.
00:16:26
Speaker
she Moves from house to house with projectors. Why is he like singling out this detective that and then that's where the movie kind of loses me every time it tips into sinister territory, which and I'm going to say something that contradicts me a little bit.
00:16:45
Speaker
Those home footage scenes. are the best or horror element of this movie. They're still very well done, just like in the first Sinister.
00:16:56
Speaker
But man, the kids and just being so involved with these kids, it it really clashes. like that There's a shot of these kids sitting down all watching, i think it's the crocodile one,
00:17:09
Speaker
on the projector and the crocodile one legitimately scared me this movie had jump scare after jump scare that legitimately got me every time I was getting sick of it at a certain point I'm like holy fuck I'm tired and I keep getting scared but there's just like narratively there's so much that I feel like they did wrong as a sequel to Sinister I actually think the kills from the first film are better than this one and the jump scares too. Jump scares really work on me when I'm super tired and this one got me, but I i agree with what you're saying. ah
00:17:54
Speaker
Sinister feels like it earns its jump scares with the audience a lot more. like That screen jump scare, I didn't really touch on it as much in the first one, but the one that you were a big fan of, that's a very popular jump scare in recent horror.
00:18:11
Speaker
I was watching it with my girlfriend, and she before it happened, she was like... This, I know this scene, this terrified the fuck out of me, and I feel like everybody has that reaction to that. Like, that the this one doesn't really hold a candle, but it's still, i don't know why, i'm usually don't fall prey to jump scares, but these sinister jump scares fucking, like, usually get me for some reason.
00:18:41
Speaker
I feel like the jump scares got me more in the first one than this one. and In the first one, those kill scenes, they seem a little more simplified, whereas these ones, they look a little more intricate. um You have...
00:18:57
Speaker
what was it, the kitchen remodel, the family, they're remodeling the kitchen, but then at night, the son or whoever it was, I think it was a boy, he flooded the kitchen and he has them all tied up and then he electrocutes all of them.
00:19:13
Speaker
and then even the one with the alligator scene, It's just, it's a little strange. i know they have that drug that knocks them out, but yeah, how are these kids suspending them up and not getting attacked themselves by this alligator or crocodile? Is it an alligator or is it a crocodile? I'll get those two mixed up.
00:19:35
Speaker
Oh, man. I think it's an alligator. i don't know if, I said crocodile earlier, so that was my bad, but I think it's an alligator. Oh, I didn't even catch I know if we have crocodiles in America. I could be wrong.
00:19:49
Speaker
I don't know if they're in America, though. But alligators are like Florida and Louisiana, I think. i urge I don't know what I'm talking about, listeners, so don't quote me on this.
00:20:03
Speaker
ah dont Don't at me. I know the nose, there's their snouts or whatever, that shows their differences. But yeah, you you make a good point if they're in America or not.
00:20:16
Speaker
I remember the super croc exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry I saw when I was a kid. And I know that wasn't in America. So I kind of used that like, okay, alligators, Florida, super croc, not in America.
00:20:32
Speaker
You think I would know because of the movie Lake Placid. Have you seen that one? I haven't. I haven't seen like those. are i don't no I think I might have seen one of the Anacondas.
00:20:45
Speaker
Those big animal movies. like are a blind spot and i think they're on our list of movies to cover they have to be because underwater creatures are no fucking joke those scare the hell out of me there's so much of the ocean that we have not explored all these little creatures are in there nessies in there so yeah we we gotta to cover these films
Character Dynamics and Casting Choices
00:21:11
Speaker
We will. The Host, I think, would be a good one. That's like a Loch Ness Monster style movie from what I've been told.
00:21:18
Speaker
Bong Joon-ho, Academy Award winning filmmaker. That would be a solid cover. What your favorite kill scene in here? Well, you said the the the alligator one or Bagul.
00:21:36
Speaker
I would say the alligator kill scene would be my favorite. that and I like the vibe of the Christmas one. At first, a lot of these kills are are too upsetting, really, for me to to pick a favorite. They feel too real. The family being electrocuted is pretty horrific.
00:21:56
Speaker
um And then I don't know how the one that they film at the end is going to turn out, but that one might be the worst of all of them. What the hell was that, though? This is not Children of the Corn here. so i yeah Why are the kids getting involved in another kid's video? They didn't get involved in each other's videos, but they're like throwing shit around.
00:22:19
Speaker
theyre like Shit's going off the rails. It turns into a found footage like slasher movie. It just doesn't work for the sinister thing. Exactly. Even in the first one, when they do start to show the little dead kids, it is where Ethan Hawke isn't um aware that they're around him, and they're all moving in slow motion.
00:22:43
Speaker
um they're not this movie has no nuance or subtlety, and everybody is aware of the ghost. Two characters can see them, and one knows everything that's going on.
00:22:56
Speaker
oh man. Exactly. that's That is one of the big things that killed it for me. um I thought I was going to kind of like it a little bit with um the kids being more in there when they showed Dylan looking at them outside, ah like through the screen door. but Because I'm a pussy.
00:23:17
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that part was funny. um And I love how the mom just jumps up out of nowhere like, what did you call him?
Ghost Children and Movie Tone
00:23:24
Speaker
But um you have ah you have you know the evil presence in here making themselves known in the daylight. Again, a time where you think you're going to feel safe. It's not going to come and harm you.
00:23:40
Speaker
But they are pretty present throughout the entire film. Whereas in the first one... They're only there at night and then they're mainly around ah the girl. I think her name was Ashley in the first one.
00:23:54
Speaker
They only show themselves to her. And then Ethan Hawke, he just doesn't know that they're there. But both of these kids know that they're there. And as far as we know, only the girl who was murdered in the house that they're at, that's the only one that their daughter can see in the first movie. We don't know if she's seeing or interacting with all of these kids.
00:24:17
Speaker
I mean, dude, when they're filming the picnic and we're seeing what it looks like behind the camera in the cornfield with all the kids sir ah surrounding them. I mean, I don't know about you. I thought that that just looked fucking ridiculous.
00:24:31
Speaker
Yeah, it it did. Like I said, it was just strange how the ending sequence, this kid's film, what is the other twins' name in here? It's Dylan and who else he plays? Dylan and Zack.
00:24:45
Speaker
Yeah, Zack. Yeah, which I think they should have been played by Zack and Cody, and I don't mean that as it goes. This movie works better if it's Zack and Cody. Yeah.
00:25:00
Speaker
Sure. If you want to go that route, we can go that route. I don't know. I like the two that they cast in here. i i haven't seen them before, but I thought they did pretty decent. I wanted to slap the shit out of Zach. So if you can get that emotion out of me for a film, you're doing the job right.
00:25:20
Speaker
I agree. i don't have any issue with them as performers. ah Just the writing of the characters and everything. like and They didn't write the movie, so I can't lay the issues that I have with it at their feet. They did a good job with what was given to them, I'd say.
00:25:37
Speaker
yeah it's like I hate that they kind of went into a Children of the Corn vibe, but um especially towards the end. However, the dad deserved what he got.
00:25:48
Speaker
He was a dick. The dad, oh yeah, so the dad gets burnt alive. He's the only one who, the movie opens in media res too, which I was like, when I realized that by the end of it, I thought, you don't really need to show us that, especially because the movie doesn't turn out the way that the recording does at the beginning.
00:26:07
Speaker
Only the dad gets burnt alive. And I... I thought that was kind of funny, and I was just thinking, oh yeah, one, they're taking off maybe the only character who could reasonably take out Zachary while he's on this rampage, but who knows?
00:26:25
Speaker
Detective so-and-so hits Zachary with a fucking truck, and the kid just adjusts his neck like he may need to go to a chiropractor once or something.
00:26:37
Speaker
Yeah. it goes back for yeah It goes back to my issue with the last Sinister movie and Cult of Chucky. the The body isn't any stronger just because it's being possessed by a demon. i don't understand that it's still the body that they're possessing.
00:26:56
Speaker
ah True. and He wasn't even possessed yet. He was just getting manipulated by all these kids. He wasn't fully taken under by Bagul yet. so That made no sense, but it was funny as hell.
00:27:09
Speaker
I had to rewind it because I was just thinking, did I miss something or did that kid get hit by truck and just walk it off? I know nothing was wrong with him. Nothing was broken. He wasn't even bleeding.
00:27:24
Speaker
He adjusts his neck like he's fucking Captain America. I can do this all day, ready to just square up again. it's you was bad.
00:27:34
Speaker
It's lunacy. but yeah so They take him off the board. I thought that was kind of funny. It was just this character is not going unpunished. Yeah, so I was happy that they at least killed him off um and the other three, they were able to be saved. The fact that they were so far out in the cornfield, um that part left me a little uneasy, like, damn.
00:28:04
Speaker
Who's going to find this fucker in the middle of that field? Because you could barely see the fire, the flames in the distance once deputy so-and-so got there. so That part I did kind of like just because that guy needed to die.
00:28:18
Speaker
But even like you were saying how they showed it in the beginning and they kept showing it throughout the film because Dylan was dreaming about it I did not like that either. They don't even have Ellison or Ashley in the first one experiencing these nightmares.
00:28:37
Speaker
So why is this kid? No subtlety. That's what I mean. It's the same thing where this kid sleepwalks too.
In-depth Critique on Sinister 2's Elements
00:28:46
Speaker
So they have to make the sleepwalking from the last movie a thing that happens when you're dealing with Mr. Boogie.
00:28:55
Speaker
Yeah, you said it right. ah Yeah. Thanks. you knew You heard the hesitation. I did, I did. a Hesitation, then I glanced.
00:29:07
Speaker
Like an approval glance. I'm very proud you called him Mr. Boogie. Thank you. Yeah. it ah God, I mean, don't get me started on this fucking guy, too.
00:29:21
Speaker
This movie makes him worse. Also, he's mopey. At one point, when his plan doesn't work out, the kids are thinking, he's going to be mad. Then he shows up and his head's down and his hair is kind of in his face. and it's what He's a demon. Why is he like so emotional?
00:29:41
Speaker
His hand... ah hand looked atrocious. It just looked like he had sausage fingers.
00:29:52
Speaker
I know he's pretty much a demon and he looks a little watered down, but what the fuck was that? That, no, they could have, if they had just put like a human hand that was decaying, that would have been a lot better than what we got.
00:30:10
Speaker
So disappointed in that. I don't remember his hand, but I believe you. it This movie did show a little too much of him, whereas I think the magic of the first Sinister is how little they really reveal of him.
00:30:27
Speaker
Luckily, I don't think a lot of people went out to see this movie, so I don't think the mystique of Bagul has been ruined for a lot of people. Speaking a not showing up for something...
00:30:40
Speaker
There's a character... Vincent D'Onofrio isn't in this movie, and I like how he blatantly just said no to this, and they had to write him out.
00:30:54
Speaker
the He's replaced by a new doctor who... ah when so Dr. Jonas, I think is the name of D'Onofrio's character, when he's mentioned this new doctor is like, I hope I'm not the new Jonas because he went missing a couple weeks ago and it's like,
00:31:15
Speaker
Is Bagul on a revenge mission from the people from the last movie? It seems like a lot of murders have happened from this movie to this movie because this is a whole new set of tapes that we're getting in this one.
00:31:29
Speaker
And Bagul is just slowly, one by one, going through everybody who assisted the author in the last movie. Is Ethan Hawke the closest one bringing this guy down?
00:31:44
Speaker
I guess that's what it looks like. And even with Deputy So-and-so and the new Dr. Jonas or whatever, he also looks like a wiener.
00:31:55
Speaker
i didn't like their interaction with each other. There was, i don't know, it just felt very forced. Whereas when you had Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio, when they were talking the one or two conversations that they had over Skype or whatever they had it over,
00:32:13
Speaker
That felt more and engaging than this one. It was kind of electric in a way. Right? it it like It gripped me the moment I saw Vincent D'Onofrio's face on screen.
00:32:27
Speaker
He just has a ah look and a presence that comes through even on a computer monologue. And this other character feels like a rewrite. It does, and it just feels as if they are reading from a script. It doesn't feel like the conversation is flowing.
00:32:46
Speaker
it's not real it's They're trying to make it informative when they are listening to the thea recordings of ah those norwegian Norwegian people, but...
00:32:59
Speaker
It doesn't go well. I feel like if that scene wasn't in this movie, it still would have flowed the way it was, but it was it's just not a successful movie in my opinion.
00:33:15
Speaker
Yeah, and when it comes to casting choices and things like that, this movie feels less budget. ah It feels lower budget and as if they had less resources than they did for the first movie. And again, from what I remember, the first movie was a success and made money. This one should have another, maybe not Ethan Hawke-sized actor, but then again, Ethan Hawke,
00:33:45
Speaker
isn't the most expensive actor out there. You could get someone at his level. They didn't even get him to return for home video footage. I was hoping we were going to see video footage from the last movie at the very least in this one.
00:34:02
Speaker
Yeah, that would have been cool if they had um that show up, but of course not. i Can I say one thing that it kind of frustrated me a little bit, too, about the film and this all being new film reels? it's It's new film reels, whole new set of kids, which I get it. You don't want to just show the footage from the last movie. That may be a little boring. and New audiences who are returning may not enjoy it that much.
00:34:29
Speaker
What I didn't like is the beginning where the kids are all kind of introduced and they're bringing out their tapes and one of the kids is like, this one's mine.
00:34:42
Speaker
And it's it's sorry if I'm shitting on the movie too much. No, i get like I said, it's not a great film. I just said I had a better time watching it just because of James Ransone. I wanted more of him.
00:34:57
Speaker
ah um But even his character in here, he wasn't given the greatest role to play. um But that part really did bother me. It was just strange um how that sequence would repeat. Dylan would go down in the basement, hi, so-and-so, hi, Ashley, or whoever.
00:35:18
Speaker
and um they all come out with the tape. This one's mine. This one's mine. Okay, just show them going downstairs, and they play the film. That could have been taken Yeah, that frustrating. Yeah, why do we need to meet the kids?
00:35:35
Speaker
They're not important. They're dead. We don't need to know who they are. The movie... says they're important, though. that They want the audience to find them important, and I think that is that what really weighs this movie down and gets it so many negative...
00:35:56
Speaker
ah reviews and ratings on like Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd and IMDb. i I think if you remove the kids and giving the ghost kids any kind of POV, it's okay giving...
00:36:13
Speaker
The kids' kids in the family of POV, that might be kind of interesting. But fully, not even fully, half-heartedly fleshing out these ghost kids and just presenting them so abruptly and so matter-of-factly, it I think that's what really hurts the movie the most.
00:36:34
Speaker
Like, Bagul's revenge mission can be forgiven. The fact that they break all the rules that they established for Bagul in the previous movie can maybe be forgiven because the audience at the end of the day and a Sinister 2 sequel want more Bagul, and it does deliver on that.
00:36:53
Speaker
But the kids' stuff, I think, is the unforgivable aspect. Yeah, because even in the first one when you find out that Ashley does see the little dead girl in there, it's when she was in bed and she was looking towards the wall and the girl was there. She painted her picture of B'gul and did the little shushing motion, but she looked dead already.
00:37:24
Speaker
and Then in here, you have all the kids, You can see that they're dead, but they look okay. and Then towards the end, once Dylan is saying, no I don't want to be a part of this, I don't want to do anything about it, that's when all of the kids are in front of him. They take a step forward and then all of their faces look worse. You see all the cracks and everything in their skin.
00:37:50
Speaker
That to me was a little strange too. It's like if they were dead to begin with, they could have shown themselves as that because they're showing this kid all these snuff films. so What makes a difference if they look quote unquote dead or alive?
00:38:07
Speaker
It's crazy that all of the kid characters are just bad characters like At least in my opinion, when you meet Milo for the first time, i my thought is, God, this kid sucks.
00:38:25
Speaker
And then you meet the second ghost kid who's like, this one's mine. sucks. That kid sucks. And then you meet the little girl and she starts talking and she sucks. And it's just, you didn't nail any of them.
00:38:42
Speaker
And no, it's no offense to the kid actors. The characters themselves just aren't good. compelling or interesting characters it was a total mistake to dive into these characters these kids and these characters further and to give us ah a peek behind the curtain it works when we give you a peek behind the curtain but not when you know blumhouse studios gives you a peek behind the curtain Well, again, like you were saying, it's not the actor's fault.
00:39:13
Speaker
it It was just bad writing in here. um What did you think of the budding relationship between ah the mom and then deputy so-and-so?
Strengths Outside the Main Plot
00:39:27
Speaker
Mercedes, you read my goddamn mind. I was right about to talk about that same shit. Let's go. I liked that. The movie is at its best when it's not being a sequel to a Sinister. I liked his relationship with her.
00:39:43
Speaker
I was glad that they didn't, at least from what I caught, they didn't have sex or anything. it he was just a sweet guy and they were having a moment I liked when the ex shows up with all of the sheriffs and he's trying to get custody of the kids and he confronts the sheriff himself and presents all this information honestly I feel like that scene was sloppily written and the dialogue would have been stronger if it were at the hands of one C. Robert Cargill his dialogue just really works in that movie
00:40:16
Speaker
But the sentiment and the scene itself, I enjoyed. i enjoyed the husband coming back and the detective still texting and being relentless. The husband, I mean, i wrote in my notes, what is this dude's fucking deal? Why is he such a psycho and so insistent on being in these kids' lives?
00:40:41
Speaker
He doesn't even seem like he likes any of these people that much. But I don't know. It's all about control for that man. Did you see ah the mom, her name is Courtney in here, um yeah her license plate, it said love you see.
00:40:57
Speaker
i did see the license plate. What is it? and Is there any significance to it? Oh, well what I was getting it was it was for.
00:41:08
Speaker
Well, now I don't know now because I was thinking, wow this guy, he got this was just what I was assuming. The the husband, Clint, he bought this woman a car and put the license plate as love you see like love you, Clint.
00:41:24
Speaker
But he could have also meant that towards her because her name is Courtney, also spelled with a c Yeah, that guy, super, super egotistical, such a douchebag.
00:41:35
Speaker
i think when I watched it the first time, i just hated this entire movie. um But watching it this time around, i did like the little spark between Courtney and Deputy So-and-so because, yeah, you can see that she's, you know, afraid. She doesn't want anything to happen to her kids.
00:41:59
Speaker
She's not like pursuing this guy She is just, you know okay, you're kind of um investigating the farm that I am staying at right now.
00:42:13
Speaker
no harm in that. She's having a fling. yeah and She finds comfort that he is there. She even asked him to stay because she doesn't want her ex-husband to come back.
00:42:24
Speaker
I like that they were having a little something. Yeah, just a cute sexless fling, basically. Yeah, even when they were outside on the porch, they were smoking, they were drinking and just talking and nothing happened. They get to kiss once and you are under the impression that something will continue once he comes back, but their ending doesn't look like it's going to be a happy ending either. But I like that they had that in the film.
00:42:56
Speaker
I just love James Ransome. He's funny. He's cool. I want to talk about the ending real quick since you brought it up.
Critique of the Open-ended Conclusion
00:43:04
Speaker
The ending really made me mad, man. i This movie ended by not having an ending, and that really irritated me. When they're standing there in front of the house as it's burning, I thought to myself...
00:43:20
Speaker
A 70s movie or just a confidently made movie would end right here. This is the ending. As far as they know, they stopped the thing. This is where horror movies, I felt like, used to end. You stop the thing, you end there.
00:43:37
Speaker
You don't really have an epilogue or a cliffhanger. And if there's a sequel, you have the setup at the beginning of the sequel. And I feel like this movie should have had just like the last Sinister, I feel like had kind of the event happens. Spoilers for the first Sinister, if you're listening to this and haven't seen it.
00:44:00
Speaker
Everybody gets ax murdered and it basically just ends there with Bagul taking the girl off. If you want the main characters to win, which I didn't believe for a second they were going to stop Bagul. I was ready to throw my phone if they actually stopped him.
00:44:17
Speaker
But when they end with the house, when they have that shot of the house burning, I thought this is a perfect ending. They're not going to end here. And then they have it. The detective, they leave together in his car or whatever, somebody's car. They stop at his motel. He's like, I have to grab a few things. His radio goes off.
00:44:37
Speaker
ah It's the kids talking or whatever, and then Begul's face jumps in at the screen just because they did that in the last movie. They have to end it the same way. It didn't really work for me. How did you feel about the ending?
00:44:53
Speaker
I didn't like it either. As I was saying earlier, it just feels as if this movie lacks a beginning and an ending. i agree. Once the house was burnt, that could have been the ending or it could have just been a scene where he's driving off.
00:45:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:45:13
Speaker
and they're just i don't know on an endless road or something because they don't know where they're going but you have that assumption okay they're safe though because they ended that whole killing sequence But for him to go back to his hotel, get all of his things, and then that radio thing shows up, that was weird because they didn't have anything like that in the first one. Like you said, you know, all of these um films are on like the the little reel thing. Projector.
00:45:48
Speaker
Projector, yes. They have that. That's how all of the family killings are being shown in here. And we should say that they destroy the camera at the end of this too.
00:45:59
Speaker
Exactly. I think that they just introduced that um radio to kind of continue this on in a different way. Okay, it's not in the camera anymore. Now it's going to be in the radio.
00:46:12
Speaker
Okay, well then what happened to the new Dr. Jonas that he didn't get rid of that? Did he die? Did Bagul bring the radio to Deputy So-and-so's room himself?
00:46:24
Speaker
That was a stupid ending. It really was. Yeah, did they even wrap anything back around with a new doctor? No, not that I remember. That guy, he was just in the one scene where he contacts the deputy and then when he has the just bland conversation with him and that's it Yeah, the doctor's name is Dr. Stromberg, I think, too. I want to say I'm pronouncing that correctly.
00:46:51
Speaker
Yeah, he just lack and lacks a presence in this movie, kind of like ah a non-character. It is kind of weird, too, when he's like, I can't tell you this information over the phone. We have to meet in person.
00:47:05
Speaker
It was like weird. It's just a blatant like narrative choice. and There's no real logic behind that.
Sinister 2's Filming Locations and Personal Anecdotes
00:47:12
Speaker
Why can't they just discuss this over the phone? I don't know. That made no sense. And he literally drove all the way out there for what?
00:47:20
Speaker
A five minute conversation and then realized, oh, yeah, you know, the kids are there. I have to go back and help this family. So this movie was just a fail.
00:47:32
Speaker
Yeah, and like we said, there there are things that do work about it. The family stuff, it sounds like it kind of works. How did you feel about the dude who was following them in the ah supermarket?
00:47:46
Speaker
He just looked like a pedophile. That's all I thought he was because his eyes, they, i mean, not trying to sound mean about the guy's appearance, but he just looked fucking creepy. His eye placement and just how he was eyeballing the fuck out of them and then just like snapped her picture. That guy was a straight up hito.
00:48:07
Speaker
My guess is that he was a public investigator, not a private investigator, but he seems like he's getting awfully close for a fucking PI. He's just blatantly walking in front of her.
00:48:21
Speaker
i was I was thinking to myself, shouldn't he like be in the parking lot, staking her out, taking pictures of her like walking back to her car if he's a private investigator not...
00:48:36
Speaker
throwing himself in front of her face every chance that he gets. that That's why it was strange too because how the cop or security guard in the the grocery store, he tried to stop the Courtney um because she was running out of the store.
00:48:54
Speaker
And when she said, oh, that gentleman there just touched one of my boys, he just stops the guy. But then nothing else happens. You just see the private investigator on the phone. Yeah, it's her.
00:49:06
Speaker
Even that scene was incomplete. You know what's going on, but it that... No. Yeah, so you're it did it didn't feel too realistic. You had mentioned the the license plate earlier, and you know I noticed that it said Indiana, but one thing that's kind of fun about this movie is ah it was shot, and it takes place basically in Illinois, not too far from where we are, actually, and it kind of made me think for a second later
00:49:38
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of great horror takes place in Illinois for some reason, and we've covered some of them. We're going to cover more of them. like We've got two of the Child's Play movies, at the very least, take place in Chicago itself, and Sinister 2 takes place in Chicago.
00:49:58
Speaker
realistically about an hour south of Chicago, maybe, maybe a little bit more. But Kankakee is ah where they filmed it. I want to say my buddy actually years ago when they were filming this knew about it and told me exactly.
00:50:17
Speaker
He was like, I know where the house is. i know where they're filming. I don't know if we can get close to location. But he asked if I wanted to drive down there and I think I had work or something. Something stopped me from being able to go there. But he told me specifically to like the day that they were shooting, he said that they were shooting little kids on a porch looking at a spider and watching this movie. I saw the exact scene and thought to myself, I don't know how he knew this, but that it's there was truth to that, I guess. But
00:50:48
Speaker
He said that was happening in Grant Park. He said the exterior house shots were in Grant Park. Really? Which I, you know, Grant Park, University Park, I actually shot a, ah and maybe he said Kankakee, but I'm remembering it wrong. I thought he said Grant Park because I shot a horror film in Grant Park about, I think it was that same summer that they were shooting Sinister 2.
00:51:13
Speaker
I shot a horror short film there, a zombie short. Really? You got to bring that on the podcast. I don't know if I have it or if I can find it.
00:51:24
Speaker
A lot of the footage got lost to my MacBook crashing and only a few of us have the footage and I don't think it's public on YouTube anymore. I'll have to see if I can track it down to at least show you. i don't feel comfortable enough posting them really talk to the person who I made it with as much anymore.
00:51:42
Speaker
It was like a team of three and I only talked to one of the two other people right now, but Yes, it was pretty interesting seeing the actual shot that was being described to me in the movie. It was pretty cool.
00:51:58
Speaker
Interesting. That's cool. That's cool. I imagined a tarantula though. you What's his name? Dylan had his little slingshot and he was going to throw his rock at it, but he doesn't. And then the thing just crawls its disgusting self away. But then when ah Deputy So-and-so is with Dr. whatever his name was, you said, he's looking through the book and you see that there was a tarantula in there and that's a sign of Bagul, I guess. So it makes me wonder...
00:52:32
Speaker
If Dylan had the balls to actually whip his slingshot at that spider, would they be safe? I don't like this half-hearted book that are in these past two movies. like One of them, you said it had a dog, and then a dog showed up, and there was a spider in one of them, and then a spider shows up. It's...
00:52:54
Speaker
very it it's not like evil dead where they open the book and it's someone's face getting ripped off and then someone's face gets ripped off and it's like it's like the book you know there's dogs and spiders everywhere yeah it was it was strange ah having that it's it was just like stick to bugool speaking of spiders have you seen any spider related horror film I saw arachnophobia.
00:53:20
Speaker
They show actual spiders. They used actual spiders in arachnophobia. and i guess at the end of the film, their credits were saying no spiders were harmed in here, but...
00:53:35
Speaker
they had spray, not a toxic spray, but a spray that spiders didn't like. and They would use that when ah the exterminator was there.
00:53:48
Speaker
and i guess that is what pushed all the spiders away. but No, those were some nasty motherfuckers in there. and One of the the main tarantulas in there, like the general or whatever, they grabbed- The general?
00:54:04
Speaker
Yeah, they call it the general in there. um they have They have just a big-ass tarantula, and apparently they put like a painted basically a painted on it.
00:54:18
Speaker
ah but implant on it That way it would look more exotic because they have it where um in the beginning, these scientists, I think, or photographers, I can't remember.
00:54:32
Speaker
They were in a different country. One of them gets... a killed by one and when he was in the coffin being sent back to america the spider was in the coffin with it so they have some interesting shit on that film i hate that film so much i was convinced that there was a spider's nest in my house growing up when i saw that film it is not a good film to watch if you are arachnophobic I don't think I'm going to watch
Fear of Spiders and Movie Impact
00:55:03
Speaker
that ever. i don't think I'm going to suggest a bug-based season of the podcast. Nope.
00:55:09
Speaker
I don't think I'm... I would have said no if you tried. Yeah, I don't think I'm going to touch that. If we started to tip tiptoe close to that, I'd pull the trigger on Halloween be like, we're doing it, Halloween, finally.
00:55:22
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, they because they show spiders in every way that can freak you out. They show one in a shoe and it bites someone's toe.
00:55:34
Speaker
They show one in someone's mouth. They show one in this little girl's room where I think she was having like a sleepover and it's just coming down from the ceiling. They show one in some guy's helmet. They show them everywhere. so Let's not relive that trauma, even though now I'm scared because we are approaching the time and pretty much are at that time of year where the spiders are emerging.
00:56:03
Speaker
Yeah, i had a bit of a bug problem for a day right when the weather changed to good weather, but I nipped that right in the butt. When I lived in Arizona, I had to do the whole checking your shoe thing for scorpions and checking your bed sheets to make sure there were no scorpions in there.
00:56:20
Speaker
So the bug deal out here is way better than what I had to deal with in Arizona. This is why I can't move out there. I would like to go visit and maybe just have warmer weather consistently, but nope, can't deal with scorpions. They had a scorpion in the first Sinister too. Yes, they did.
00:56:40
Speaker
so I kind of want to do like a little you know quick PSA at the end of the that episode to wrap it up, but before I do that, do you want to do you have any final thoughts on Sinister 2, Electric Boogaloo? Yes.
00:56:55
Speaker
It was ah funny watch just to see James Ransone again, but ultimately not a good film. Thumbs down. Thumbs down. I hope I didn't talk you down from a thumbs up.
00:57:08
Speaker
It wasn't even a thumbs up for me. i just had a good time watching it for some reason, which confused me because I knew i didn't like this film. But again, I had a fun time watching it more so compared to the first one. but But I also think too, because the first one felt more complete and I feel like they had a more successful storyline and flow of the film, whereas this one, it felt choppy.
00:57:36
Speaker
It had a lot of... scenes that were unnecessary in here and yeah so it just it wasn't a good film but also man if you had fun with it that's totally cool too there are movies that i've recognized as bad movies that I've still enjoyed, that I've watched multiple times.
00:57:58
Speaker
There are movies that other people will say are bad movies that I will sit here and say, that is not the case. And I will have a clear reason for why I think other people deem it as bad and for why I think it's actually good.
00:58:13
Speaker
But, you know, there's nothing wrong with ah having a good time during a bad movie. ah Kind of was hoping to get that out of this movie, but this movie, i actually didn't expect it to be what it ended up being. i didn't think it was going to really devote so much time to the ghost kids.
00:58:36
Speaker
I thought it was just going to be a bad version of Sinister. Yeah, it could have been better and watching in a few years will probably get a third movie.
00:58:46
Speaker
I don't really know because I don't know if Sinister 2 did well financially and critically and ah like when it comes to the audiences, it didn't satisfy, it didn't do well at all.
00:59:00
Speaker
So i'm the only way i I really see them doing another Sinister is maybe if you get Scott Derrickson and see Robert Cargill back, but you do one that pretends that this doesn't exist.
00:59:13
Speaker
Maybe a prequel, maybe something a bit more, but something that kind of ignores what this movie felt the need to try to add to the first Sinister.
00:59:24
Speaker
Yeah, if they did a prequel or even show um how Ellison, his little 15 minutes of fame came to be, and if they were able to tie that murder into everything else, that would be a cool third movie. But yeah, they would just have to forget about this one. This one was a dupe.
00:59:45
Speaker
Or if they just made a movie that was just a continuation of Sinister. it's The chain keeps moving and that's all it is. And maybe there's another Ethan Hawke-esque figure.
00:59:59
Speaker
i actually had an idea for a Sinister sequel that I'll say real quick. ah I had an idea for it being like Coen Brothers-esque, but without the comedy, where maybe, you know, same thing, a wife trying to get keep her two kids.
01:00:16
Speaker
Maybe she's barely got any money. She's really struggling, but she believes she's a better mom than this father would be. And she finds these tapes and she tries to use them as blackmail and ends up getting...
01:00:28
Speaker
way too in over her head or she maybe tries to sell them on the black market tries to do something to get ahead using these tapes very cohen brothers where somebody finds these tapes they try to do something with it they shouldn't be doing with it and they get in over their head and just keep making that the cycle of sinister sequels would have been a better alternative than what we got with this one yeah But before we wrap up the episode, I wanted to throw some recommendations your way to Mercedes and some recommendations the audience's
Current Movie Recommendations
01:01:02
Speaker
way. We're recording pretty close to when this episode is coming out. And I want to shout out some movies and theaters that are in theaters right now.
01:01:09
Speaker
I know, Mercedes, you're going to be seeing this. I don't remember if you said it on mic, but the new Final Destination movie. I'm not going to spoil it, but what were you going to say?
01:01:21
Speaker
No, I'm just, I'm tired of everyone saying, yeah, I saw it. I'm like, motherfucker, I want to see it. And I still haven't been able to see it. But yeah, I'm going to hopefully see it soon. Hopefully.
01:01:31
Speaker
Yeah, have Mercedes instead is seeing Lilo and Stitch, I think. She'll be... Next episode, you got to talk about Lilo and Stitch. I guess we should reveal it real quick right here.
01:01:43
Speaker
We're going to be doing 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and 28 Years Later coming up, guys. That's going to be our next season of movies. Let's fucking go. I'm excited for it. I'm fucking pumped. 28 Days Later 28 Weeks I've got a lot to say about those movies. 28 Days Later is in my top 16 movies of all time right now on Letterboxd. Go follow me on Letterboxd at Nicholas Ewers, guys.
01:02:09
Speaker
But that movie is so special to me. I'm so excited to to talk about it. Final Destination, though, that movie rules. Mercedes, I think you're going to fucking love it when you see it.
01:02:21
Speaker
ah People are saying it's the best of the fucking franchise. I'm very, very excited, and I have high standards already because people are telling me that they liked it.
01:02:32
Speaker
People who don't even watch horror films like that or have gone to see it, and it's not fair. so I'm going to make an effort to see it this week, hopefully.
01:02:43
Speaker
Hopefully. Hell yeah. And you guys never know, maybe in the future we'll one day be covering these ah Final Destination movies. But Final Destination Bloodline rules, guys, or Bloodlines rules. Guys, you should...
01:02:59
Speaker
Definitely check it out if you are a fucking fan of horror. And ah real quick, two more movies in theaters. I want to shout out Mission Impossible. I won't give my full thoughts.
01:03:10
Speaker
I'm a huge Mission Impossible fan. am going to try and find a way to record thoughts on that because I was a little mixed on the movie, but the spectacle. That movie has spectacle. Guys, it's a fucking blockbuster. um ah Man, there's some shit in there that you will we' just take your breath away spectacle-wise.
01:03:29
Speaker
And then ah yesterday I saw this movie Friendship starring Paul Rudd and let me make sure I get it. Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson. If you're Mercedes, have you watched? I think you should leave on Netflix.
01:03:44
Speaker
I have not. It's a comedy series. I think you might enjoy it if you like comedy that really makes you cringe and uncomfortable.
01:03:57
Speaker
um This movie Friendship could be a horror movie. It's classified as a comedy. I think it's a fucking beautiful work of art. I really loved it. I love the tone, the feel.
01:04:10
Speaker
It reads almost like a horror movie to me. I feel like this could be read as some deep and dark character study. i I fucking loved it. Go check out Friendship. It's an indie film. I think it's going to do pretty well. This going to be one hell of a summer, guys.
01:04:27
Speaker
Go support movies if you can. I think this is going to be one of the best summers we've had in years. ah I think people are really going to go out. Sinners is probably a big reason why people are coming out. Minecraft, but go to the movies, guys. Support your fucking movie theaters and go see something. ah I think it's going to be great.
Upcoming Season Announcement
01:04:48
Speaker
We'll be covering 28 years later coming up in a couple of weeks. Go check that out when it comes out. Buy a ticket. Support Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, other filmmakers.
01:04:59
Speaker
I mean, we're covering Danny Boyle next week with 28 Days Later. so It's going to be a great time this year. Thanks for letting me do that, Mercedes, that whole tangent. It's all good.
01:05:10
Speaker
It's preparing us for the future and what the podcast holds. So it it was necessary. Yeah. how How are you feeling about these zombie movies we got coming up?
01:05:22
Speaker
I'm a little nervous because i always feel uneasy when it comes to zombies because you have a variety of them. You have the ones that are so fucking stupid um and they can barely walk. And then you have the ones that are terrifying and can run faster than you.
01:05:42
Speaker
um Honestly, that's the only reason why i do cardio. Not because I like it, but because i have a fear of being chased by zombies. so have to stay ahead of the game. specifically Yes, exactly. Zombies specifically.
01:05:57
Speaker
um All those movies have freaked me out, so i need to prepare for that. This is going to be a good one. All right. Sounds good. Sounds good. I can't wait.
01:06:09
Speaker
Well, we've been Morbid Curiosities, guys. Stay tuned for 28 Days Later next week. Let's go.