Review of Sinister (2012) by Justin A — 01 Oct 2015

I heard some mixed, though mostly positive things about this movie. It looked and sounded like a decent supernatural horror movie. And Ethan Hawke being in the movie made me even more curious. However, it was just like any modern ghost movie.

Tons of jump scares. What I found most baffling was the way the plot was structured. Most scary movies have a slow build of discovery. In this, he finds the videos first that depict the murders and show the monster, and only later does he find the kids' drawings? Shouldn't that be the other way around where the drawings hint towards something more sinister? This movie was full of that kind of stuff, where characters are piecing together things that I thought were already figured out earlier in the movie.

Like the connection between all the families and houses? I thought that was figured out halfway in the movie, and then at the end of the movie they treat it like it was a big twist. Finding the super 8 film (after being burned) probably should have happened about halfway through the movie.

The kids aren't scary, the bagel with cream cheese wasn't scary, and I don't know why Ethan Hawke signed on for this movie. I feel like 2/5 is too generous.