What Happened to Sinister 2? Inside the Horror Sequel’s Troubled Production

Cody

The What Happened to This Horror Movie episode on Sinister 2 was written by Jaime Vasquez:

Sinister 2 had a lot to live up to. After all, how do you follow a movie hailed as one of the scariest ever made, especially when you’ve killed off your leading man? Released in the summer of 2015, the sequel expanded the mythology of Bughuul while telling its story from an entirely different perspective. Unfortunately, critics and audiences were largely underwhelmed, dismissing it as another unnecessary horror sequel. But was there a better movie buried beneath the finished product?

According to co-writer C. Robert Cargill, budget constraints, production setbacks, and studio-mandated changes compromised his original vision. What happened to the disturbing murder sequences that never made it to the screen? What crucial details about Bughuul’s mythology were left on the cutting room floor? And why was the film’s entire ending reworked following disappointing test screenings?

We’ll also uncover how the production unintentionally began resembling another Stephen King horror classic, how a venomous spider nearly cost the director his leg, and the bizarre crossover that could have brought two modern horror franchises together.

It’s time to dust off the old projector and turn up the ham radio as we find out what happened to Sinister 2.

Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill Return for a Sequel

Following the success of Sinister, producer Jason Blum approached original writer C. Robert Cargill and director Scott Derrickson about returning for a sequel. Blum had used a similar strategy with Insidious: Chapter 2 and The Purge: Anarchy, bringing back members of the original creative teams to help maintain continuity. With a sequel likely to happen regardless of their involvement, Cargill and Derrickson agreed to return, hoping to preserve the eerie atmosphere that made the 2012 film so effective.

Derrickson wouldn’t direct Sinister 2, but he would help choose his successor. His criteria included experience working with children, the ability to shoot quickly on a relatively small budget, and a talent for building tension while drawing natural performances from actors. So much of the original film’s horror depended on the characters’ reactions that getting those performances right was essential.

The director who fit the bill was Ciarán Foy, whose Irish psychological horror film Citadel had been released in 2012. That film caught Derrickson’s attention, and he even praised it on Twitter. Derrickson and Foy connected and began discussing filmmaking before Derrickson brought up his search for a Sinister 2 director. Foy was initially apprehensive. He didn’t want to make a sequel that simply duplicated the original. Learning that the story would be told from an entirely different perspective made him more comfortable signing on.

While writing the screenplay, Cargill and Derrickson wanted to open the door to a full-fledged franchise without losing the elements that made Sinister distinctive. Derrickson insisted on bringing back Bughuul as the central villain and retaining the brutal family murder films.

For the original movie, Cargill had written a list of 24 gruesome family deaths, from which Derrickson selected six. They reversed those roles for the sequel, with Derrickson coming up with the deaths and Cargill choosing which ones to use. Derrickson later described discarding enormous numbers of script pages during development, something he hadn’t done before. He was determined to avoid letting the story drift into generic sequel territory.

One important addition was the church setting, inspired by a childhood memory that had haunted Derrickson for years. As a kid growing up in Westminster, Colorado, he attended a school overlooking a red church on a hill that was rumored to be haunted. He remembered feeling an eerie presence coming from inside the building and even having nightmares about it.

Cargill also brought a personal perspective to the story. His wife is a twin, and he wanted to explore the similarities and contrasts between twins, particularly through the conclusion, in which one twin chooses good and the other evil.

The Ghost Children, Deputy So & So, and the Cast

Cargill wrote several scenes exploring how Bughuul’s ghost children were persuaded to murder their families. After the original film’s shocking revelation that the children were the killers, he felt the sequel needed to explain more about how they were manipulated. Another major consideration was the fate of the first film’s surviving deputy, known only as Deputy So & So. With Ellison dead, Cargill and Derrickson felt the character had plenty of unresolved issues and a compelling reason to investigate how the evil could be stopped.

Derrickson contacted James Ransone early in development to let him know that So & So would be stepping out of his supporting role and into the spotlight. Audiences had responded well to the character, and being one of the few survivors of the original film certainly helped. Ransone was a scene-stealer in Sinister, and he proves capable of carrying the sequel, too. So & So is sharp, funny, and genuinely sympathetic, with flashes of unexpected badassery that make him all the more endearing. Ransone made the character his own, and it’s hard not to wish there had been another film for him to return to.

Shannyn Sossamon, meanwhile, had appeared in a couple of horror films before Sinister 2. Finding those experiences emotionally draining, she had previously said she never wanted to make another one. She ultimately accepted the role of Courtney Collins, a single mother trying to protect her children from an abusive husband, because the story was written more like a family drama. Foy admired Sossamon’s approach. Rather than playing up the conventions of a stereotypical horror-movie mother, she approached Courtney as straightforwardly as possible.

To cast Dylan and Zach, Foy asked casting director Terri Taylor to look for children in unconventional places, such as martial arts schools and football teams. He had discovered the young actors for Citadel in a similar way and wanted to avoid performances that felt overly technical or theatrical. Taylor found the Sloan brothers, two of three fraternal triplets. Robert Daniel Sloan plays Dylan, a boy haunted by memories of his abusive father and troubled by ghostly children who visit him at night. Dartanian Sloan plays Zach, Dylan’s twin brother, who is colder and more hostile toward Dylan and their mother. Their inexperience doesn’t prevent their real-life sibling chemistry from coming through on screen.

Lea Coco plays Clint, Courtney’s abusive husband. Cole Hauser had originally been set to play the role but withdrew at the last minute, leaving Coco to step in. Cargill felt Coco did a good job but believed Hauser might have delivered a more nuanced performance. Clint ultimately comes across as a somewhat one-note villain: we see the man Courtney fears, but little evidence of the man she once loved. Cargill didn’t necessarily blame Foy, suggesting that the last-minute casting change may have affected the chemistry between Coco and the rest of the cast.

Tate Ellington plays Dr. Stromberg, who helps Deputy So & So investigate Bughuul, essentially taking over the function of the original film’s Dr. Jonas. Character actor John Beasley plays Father Rodriguez. Cargill had written the role with Danny Trejo in mind, but Trejo was unavailable. Which, I think, worked out for the best. Trejo is a great actor, but his familiar screen persona might have leaned too heavily toward camp. Beasley balances comedy and drama nicely, and his brief scene with Deputy So & So is one of the film’s strongest.

Lucas Jade Zumann plays Milo, the leader of Bughuul’s ghost children and the most determined to convince Dylan and Zach to watch the 16mm films. Cargill didn’t want to make a full-on remake of Children of the Corn, but Milo draws loosely on Isaac, the nine-year-old religious cult leader from that Stephen King adaptation.

Nicholas King returns as Bughuul. One criticism of Sinister 2 is that the villain is shown too often and used for too many jump scares. Still, King brings a palpable vacancy and eerie presence to the role. He’s frightening even when he’s simply standing there.

Sossamon, who has admitted to being easily scared, had a different experience on set. Because King couldn’t see through the makeup and had to be guided around, she found him far less intimidating in person.

How Sinister 2 Was Filmed

The production shot the movie in just 30 days in Illinois, primarily outside Chicago, with rural areas used for the cornfield scenes. Additional filming and reshoots later took place in Los Angeles.

Despite his commitment to Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Derrickson remained on set during the first week of filming and returned for the reshoots. He occasionally guided Foy toward the style of the original Sinister, but largely encouraged him to make the sequel his own.

The home movie sequences also received a technical change. The original film used Super 8 footage, while the sequel switched to a 16mm Bolex camera. Despite the technology being older, the 16mm camera was cheaper and easier to find.

One exception was the sequence titled “Christmas Morning,” which had originally been intended for the first Sinister. It begins innocently enough, with a family celebrating Christmas, before revealing the victims tied up in Christmas lights and left outside in the snow. Merry Christmas, indeed. The sequence was cut from the original film because of runtime constraints. Rather than let the footage gather dust, the filmmakers found a home for it in the sequel.

The Rat Torture Scene Was Almost Even Worse

The film was commended by the National Humane Society for its handling of animals. Trainers were present for the early scene in which Deputy So & So is startled by a bowl dragging across the floor. When he lifts it, he discovers a rat underneath. The moment was a classic horror movie fake-out. To keep the animal safe, trainers checked the area and possible escape routes before using peanut butter to encourage the rat to remain in place. The rat was never actually trapped beneath the bowl; it was filmed only after the bowl had been tossed aside.

The other rat sequence was much more gruesome. In the 16mm film titled “Sunday Service,” Milo drugs his family and ties them to the floor of a church in a pentagram formation. He places upside-down metal bowls over their stomachs, trapping live rats underneath, then sets hot coals on top. The heat drives the animals to try to escape, and the victims are shown being attacked. Hey, we never said this was a Disney film.

Once again, trainers were used to lure the animals with food. The actors lay on the floor as live rats crawled over their bodies, while the moments in which the animals chew through their victims’ abdomens were added digitally. As horrific as the sequence is, the concept draws on a real method of torture associated with historical accounts of medieval punishment. A version of the threat even appears in 2 Fast 2 Furious. In Sinister 2, however, the filmmakers take it to its conclusion. And the scene was originally supposed to be even more disturbing.

Cargill had written a version featuring a rat king, a rare phenomenon in which multiple rats become entangled by their tails. He was disappointed that the sequence wasn’t filmed as intended because he believed it could have been one of the movie’s biggest scares. The reported cost of creating it was $113,000. Unfortunately, the production ran into an unexpected problem.

Budget Problems, a Venomous Spider, and a Lost Kill Scene

Because Chicago hosts so many film productions, much of the local crew was already booked. The production had to hire less-experienced personnel who struggled to meet the demands of the shoot. Further filming in Illinois was cancelled, and the production moved the remainder of the work to Los Angeles. That change consumed the budget that might otherwise have funded the rat king sequence.

The filmmakers also encountered trouble with another small creature. For the scene in which a wolf spider crawls onto the porch near Dylan, trainers placed the spider in a container and allowed it to crawl out naturally for the camera. Foy joked that the spider was the biggest diva on set because it took its time leaving the container, extending the workday. Later that day, the director experienced a much more serious spider-related incident.

Foy was bitten on the leg by a brown recluse spider and temporarily lost all feeling in the affected limb. A set medic examined the bite and determined that he needed urgent hospital treatment. Fortunately, he received medical attention in time and avoided serious consequences, including the possibility of losing his leg.

Sossamon later recalled that Foy was a hands-on, highly mobile director who spent little time sitting in his chair. Eerily enough, he was bitten when he finally settled into it.

The incident also made the film’s recurring animal imagery seem particularly appropriate. Bughuul’s manifestations are associated with spiders and rats, two creatures that feature prominently in the sequel’s nightmares.

Another major scare that never made it into the finished film involved the climactic cornfield sequence. In the original version, Courtney, Dylan, and Clint were to be tied to posts while Zach threatened them with a wheat thresher. Budget constraints forced the filmmakers to abandon the sequence. The scene was replaced by a triple crucifixion, with Clint set on fire. Unfortunately, the victims’ heads were covered by sacks, so viewers never got to see Clint’s face as he died. A big missed opportunity, if you ask me.

The change also created another unintended connection to Children of the Corn. The production had initially planned to shoot in a Colorado wheat field but opted for a cheaper Illinois cornfield instead. Foy then proposed crucifying the family on scarecrow posts, strengthening the resemblance to the Stephen King adaptation.

Cargill praised Foy’s execution of the scene, although he wasn’t present when it was filmed and therefore never had an opportunity to object to the change.

Why the Original Ending of Sinister 2 Was Changed

The cornfield sequence wasn’t the only part of Sinister 2 to undergo a major revision. The original third act disappointed test audiences, prompting the studio to rethink the ending.

The finale was reshot, with additional supernatural elements added to increase the scare factor. Cargill wasn’t entirely sold on the changes. He felt the new direction was too similar to the ending of Insidious: Chapter 2, relying on familiar demonic bells and whistles rather than allowing the mythology of Sinister to carry the story. The revised ending may have made the climax more conventionally frightening, but it also sacrificed some of the individuality the filmmakers had hoped to preserve.

What Was Cut From Sinister 2?

The changes went beyond the ending. Cargill later acknowledged that some of the moments he considered crucial to the story had been left on the cutting room floor. Chief among them was a confessional scene intended to serve as a roadmap for the film. Father Rodriguez would have helped Deputy So & So work out how to stop Bughuul. The original scene reportedly ran for ten minutes, but it was reduced to roughly two minutes in the finished film.

Another missing piece involved Dr. Stromberg, who was supposed to shed more light on Bughuul’s motivations. According to Cargill’s intended mythology, the entity feeds on the sins of children, using them to sustain his existence. That doesn’t mean Bughuul is powerless without them. Even on his own, he’s a dangerous entity capable of causing harm in the real world.

I’m not usually a fan of horror films spelling out their mythology through exposition, but I think Sinister 2 could have benefited from these explanations. The original movie established a terrifying premise, and the sequel had an opportunity to deepen it. Instead, some of the most useful information was trimmed away while more conventional supernatural scares were added.

How Much Money Did Sinister 2 Make?

Sinister 2 arrived in theaters in August 2015. It grossed more than $25 million internationally and nearly $28 million in the United States and Canada, giving it a worldwide total of more than $53 million. The film’s budget was initially estimated at around $10 million, although Cargill later corrected that figure, saying it was closer to $5 million.

Despite its commercial performance, the sequel was savaged by critics. It currently holds a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score is higher but still underwhelming at 31%. Critics generally considered the film unnecessary and felt it offered little new to the franchise. Many audience members shared that opinion, although some preferred it to the original.

Cargill said he avoided reading reviews because he already had a negative opinion of the film himself. His disappointment was rooted partly in the material that had been removed and the changes made during production.

Still, the film wasn’t without its defenders. The performances, the home movie sequences, and the potential of Bughuul’s mythology all offered elements worth revisiting.

Could Sinister 3 Ever Happen?

There have been no confirmed plans for a third installment, but Derrickson and Cargill have expressed interest in returning to the Sinister universe. Cargill has said he’s only willing to move forward if he and Derrickson can agree on a concept they both like.

One potential direction has already been explored and abandoned: a crossover between Sinister and Insidious. According to Cargill, a producer at Blumhouse pitched a mash-up with the working title Insinister. The relationship between the two franchises dates back to before the first Sinister reached theaters. The project was originally called Found Footage before the title was changed to Sinister, following the success of the one-word title Insidious.

The films also contain brief nods to one another. The Sinister 2 box can be spotted in Insidious: Chapter 3, while a drawing of the red-faced demon from Insidious appears behind Deputy So & So in Dr. Stromberg’s office.

Despite those connections, the crossover never happened. Cargill and Insidious creator Leigh Whannell reportedly felt that combining the franchises would risk producing something too campy, as has happened with other horror crossovers.

For now, Bughuul’s future remains uncertain. But the sequel left the door open for further stories, provided the filmmakers can find an idea that excites them.

Was Sinister 2 Really That Bad?

There’s nothing unforgivably wrong with Sinister 2, but it ultimately played things too safe to be memorable. If the filmmakers had swung for the fences and failed, at least they would have tried something more ambitious.

The film often feels like two separate movies: a conventional supernatural horror story and a domestic drama about an abused mother trying to protect her children. The drama is far more interesting, but because it doesn’t always fuse naturally with the horror, the two halves can feel disconnected.

One scene demonstrates how effectively they could have worked together. When Clint returns, Dylan hides under the bed, terrified of what’s going to happen. Courtney assures him that everything will be fine. The audience understands that she’s talking about his father, while Dylan may be thinking about Bughuul. That dramatic irony connects the family’s real-world trauma with the supernatural threat. If the film had found more moments like this, the emotional drama might have made the horror more effective.

Sossamon and Ransone deliver strong performances, giving the film a beating heart amid all the darkness. The franchise’s use of outdated technology also remains one of its most effective weapons, turning grainy home movies and ham radios into nightmares that are difficult to shake. And Bughuul still has enough tricks up his sleeve to make your skin crawl.

Some horror sequels age better than others, and perhaps Sinister 2 is due for a reevaluation. Its production problems, cut material, and reworked ending help explain why it never quite lived up to its predecessor. At the same time, the finished film contains enough worthwhile ideas to make you wonder what might have happened if the filmmakers had been given more freedom to pursue them.

Could we see a Sinister 3 someday? I wouldn’t rule it out. Despite its flaws, the sequel leaves plenty of room for the story to continue, and the door to Bughuul’s world remains wide open. Whether we’ll ever step through it is another question entirely, but I remain optimistic.

And that, my friends, is what happened to Sinister 2.

A couple of previous episodes of this show can be seen below. For more, check out the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel—and don’t forget to subscribe!