Sinister: Review
It’s that time of year again..its October, which means it’s time to watch movies about things that go bump in the night. And to be honest, I actually enjoy this time of year of movies, right next to the summer. Watching horror movies are like going on a roller coaster, you can’t help but enjoy getting a thrill from being scared for your life. Even though your life isn’t really being threatened, your really just seeing it on a movie screen. It’s the going home part and being paranoid about the horror you’ve seen on screen becoming reality is what really scares the you. Now a lot of horror movies don’t really scare me, but I do enjoy watching it for the entertainment factor. However, there ARE a select batch of horror movies that generally creep me out. Not SCARE me, but creeps me to the point that the movie stays on my mind when I go home. Even days AFTER I watch the movie, I would still find myself thinking about the movie and I get a little bit of ghoosebumps just by thinking about it. Well let me tell you, Sinister is one those movies…
Ethan Hawke as Ellison Oswalt
From the same people who brought us Paranormal Activity and Insidious (both movies that creeped me out as well), brings you a new movie that makes you want to keep the lights on (word to Future). Sinister tells a story about a true-crime novalist named Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke), who moves with his family into a new house so he can get inspiration to write another book. This house just happens to be the former home of another family that got murdered (by hanging), and the youngest daughter ended up being missing and hasn’t been seen since. One day Ellison finds a box with a projector and several reels of Super 8 footage that are labeled as if they are family home movies. Turns out these reels of film have disturbing footage of family’s getting murdered, and instead of telling the cops about it. Ellison uses the footage as inspiration and research to write a new book that could put him back on the best sellers list. However, the deeper he gets in the footage, the more he discovers that a demonic supernatural force is pulling the strings on the murders. Ellison quickly discovers that his family is in danger and he needs to do something quickly before it’s too late.
Director Scott Derrickson (The Excoerism of Emily Rose & The Day The Earth Stood Still) did a great job directing this film. He really did bring that creepy vibe through out the entire movie. There really was a sense of uneasiness through out the entire movie, and you really didn’t know when shit was going to go down. But trust me, when it happens, you WILL know it and you WILL either be A. creeped out B. scared shitless C. disturbed or D. all of the above. I think I was either between A or C. Ethan Hawke did a great job in this movie too, he really did show why he earned that Oscar nomination for best actor. You really did feel for his character, and see how far he would go just to continue writing his story. The creep factor is there too you better believe that, especially when you see the main demon Bagul (or for what the kids called him..Mr. Boogie). However, I do have to admit that some of the scares were lightweight cheap and cliche, however for some reason they were STILL effective. Especially the ending which I admit, left some chills up my spine. It was beautifully shot and it was disturbing beyond belief.
All in all, Sinister is a grade A horror movie, and I won’t be surprised if it goes down as a classic years from now. Producer Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity & Insidious) really knows how to pick his horror movies. He really does have a keen on what can truly scare a person, and he knows what it takes to make a truly scary movie. Sinister is one of those movies, and it’s another film in my batch of “Movies that creeped out Busby”. I can tell you right now that I’m gonna sleep with the lights on for a few nights…**shivers**
Summary: Found footage helps a true-crime novelist realize how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his entire family in the path of a supernatural entity.
