The Horror Show
Sinister (2012)
by Scott Derrickson
After the rather bad Daybreakers, Ethan Hawke (who seems to have an affinity for horror movies) stars in Scott Derrickson’s 2012 work, Sinister.
Sinister is distinguished for its spooky atmosphere, blood-letting scenes, horrific demonic presences, and a noteworthy twist in the end. On the whole, it has a bunch of elements that make it a very entertaining choice for the horror movie fans and a quite disturbing one for those who don’t have the stomach for such flicks.
Ethan Hawke's character, Ellison Oswalt, is a famous true-crime writer who is desperately looking for a fresh idea for his new book. For that reason, he moves with his wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance) and their two children into a new house in a rural Pennsylvania county where a young girl had gone missing after her entire family was found dead, hanging from the backyard tree.
His natural curiosity as a writer and his need for acknowledgement and fame put him and his family onto a serial killer's from the 60's radar. After conveniently finding a box with an old film projector and a few home movies in the attic, Ellison begins to investigate what seems to be a series of gruesome murders. These home movies depicted happy family time of different families, but the finales were anything but, as almost all members were brutally murdered. Ellison immediately sees a connection between the horrific killings and tries to solve the mystery, but at a deadly price. As his investigations progress, he exposes his family to the demonic deity: the child-eater, Bughuul.
Sinister has what it takes to disturb and satisfy its viewers. Without overusing splatter scenes it leaves enough room for fear and agony, whilst creating a gripping atmosphere to keep the interest alive. Eerie music accompanies Ethan Hawke during the macabre investigation, which makes the setting and the story more intense. The characters' performances are particularly convincing, cleansing Hawke from his previous flop that is Daybreakers.
Even though the plot involves a number of clichés found massively in horror movies, such as moving into a new home, nightmarish footage found in the attic, and demonic haunting, they are all smoothly intertwined in Sinister.
The ending, which is certainly worth the wait, lays the foundations for a promising sequel and hopefully Sinister 2 will break the “sequels-are-always-bad curse”. Stay tuned for my review of the sequel in the next round of The Horror Show.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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