Review of Sinister (2012) by Ariel H — 02 Apr 2014

I hated Sinister when I saw it in cinema, it didn't do what a horror movie was meant to, yet one day when I'm home alone I felt like watching it again so I went out and bought it, came home, turned the lights out and sat by myself shrouded in darkness.

The atmosphere was set and Sinister began. This is a creepy and at times frightening horror movie that feels like a brother to Insidious and Paranormal Activity, yet has it's own neat ideas and story that focuses on true crime writer Ellison who discovers a box of home movies, all of which are filled with horrific murders.

Soon Ellison becomes entangled in the mystery and begins to uncover a supernatural force beyond his control, one that will put him and his family in danger. Sinister is all about imagery, images that will haunt you and stay in your mind.

The hangings, the drownings, the burnings, all twisted and sick enough to mess with your head. The home videos here are incredibly created, the grain and static effects are uneasy as they flicker back and forth to the living and then the dead as the demonic entity Buhguul appears, for the first time in ages you actually get close up to the terrifying entity.

There's a shedload of jump scares and grisly deaths, the atmosphere is intensely dark and watching this alone as I did really put me on edge. The cast are fantastic, Ethan Hawke perfectly conveys someone who descends into obsession and dedication, Juliet Rylance is good as the wife who realises they moved into the house of a murder scene, and she flips out spectacularly in an argument towards the ending in which funny cop James Ransone states "That's not an argument I'd wanna be there for".

The twist ending may not be as shocking as other movies of it's type but the amount of dread and chills in Sinister does enough to make it stand out as one of the scariest movies in years.