Sinister

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Sinister
Released 10/11/12, now in theaters


The supernatural horror of Sinister rolls into theaters this weekend.  Previews of the film had me very intrigued, although my enthusiasm was somewhat tempered as it is the advertised brainchild of those responsible for the abomination that was Paranormal Activity.  Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, and Vincent D’Onofrio star.   Scott Derrickson, who is responsible for, what I believe, the underrated “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” directs. 

The movie begins in true horror fashion depicting Super 8 footage of an unknown family’s gruesome hanging from their backyard tree branch.  Flash forward months later as true-crime novelist, Ellison Oswalt (Hawke), moves into the same house with his wife, Tracy (Rylance), and children, Ashley and Trevor.   He is in desperate need of another hit novel as his last true-crime bestseller, Kentucky Blood, was 10 years ago.  The money and fame have all but dried up.  Ellison had to move his family into a less lavish home.  But he has an ulterior motive.  The murdered family’s hanging will be the basis of his next novel.  There were supposedly five members in the hanged family, but only four were killed.  The youngest daughter, Stephanie, is still missing.  Of course, Ellison hasn’t told his own family they are actually living in the house where the murders took place.

Soon after moving in, Ellison discovers a box in the attic labeled “Home Movies.”  The box contains a projector and several Super 8 movie reels innocuously titled “Pool Party”, “BBQ “, “Sleepy Time”, “Lawn Work”, and “Hanging Out.”  Each film shows a day in the life of different families enjoying time together.  Each one ends in a family’s grisly murder, including Stephanie’s family (the stars of “Hanging Out”).  Ellison is repulsed, but can’t get the better of his curiosity.  He watches each film several times looking for clues as to who would perform such heinous acts and film them.  He discovers a couple disturbing items.  There is a strange symbol that appears in each movie along with a demonic figure barely seen in the shadows.  There are also several strange things happening around the house.  His son’s night terrors have worsened, his daughter is painting pictures of the missing Stephanie, the projector mysteriously turns on by itself, and Ellison can swear he’s seen the demonic presence around the house on a couple different occasions. With the aid of a local deputy (Ransone) and religion/cult college professor, Jonas (D’Onofrio),  Ellison learns that the families all met their ends in different locations across the country, one child from each family has gone missing, and the demonic entity in the films is a Pagan deity named Buguul, the eater of children’s souls.  But how are all of these random victims connected?  And will Ellison learn the answer too late to save his own family?

Sinister is one of those movies that makes you proud to be a horror fan.  This film is what the genre is about:  creepiness, terror, foreboding, and atmosphere.  And all horror movies need a great villain.  Buguul is barely seen and not heard, but the idea of him still dominates the film.  When he is seen, he’s sufficiently horrific looking, his end game is terrifying.  There’s great pacing to the story and Ethan Hawke’s descent into paranoia and obsession is very believable.

Sinister also succeeded in making me do something I haven’t done in a while watching a horror movie.  It actually made me jump a couple of times.  It’s not the type of uncomfortable squirming the Saw franchise elicits.  It was genuine “What the Hell was that?” type of  jumping.  You’ll likely figure out the final frames in Sinister before they occur, but it doesn’t matter.  It’s a fun and creepy ride getting there and that’s what counts.  That’s a true horror movie.  This is why it’s the perfect Halloween movie. 

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

**** stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.