The basic premise is flawed but the movie has its moments

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2012)

Sinister is a horror movie whereby a best-selling author (Ellison Oswalt) is set to write a book about the unexplained murder of a whole family and the possible abduction of one of the children in a rural Pennsylvanian neighborhood. Ellison (played by Ethan Hawke) decides (for some totally unexplained reason) to move with his wife and two young children at the same house where that family used to live (no wonder why the rent was so low).
Elisson finds accidentally in the attic some unregistered 8mm videotapes depicting a series of similar murders that were also not resolved. He witnesses a number of phenomena (viewing the 8mm tapes and at his house) and starts to believe that a malevolent 'entity' (a spirit that takes a human-like form) is responsible for all the murders and tries now to possess and harm his family.
The movie reminded me a lot of 'Insidious' (2010) a similar (but better) movie with the same pattern: namely, again an 'entity' tries to possess a child. In 'Sinister' it was difficult for me to come to terms with the movie's ending and the basic premise of the movie. Also a key element in the film (the 8mm films) is left 'hanging' and their presence is not given a rational (or even a metaphysical) justification. I thought it was a convenient plot device of the script that did not resonate well with what the film tried to convey. Even the decision of Ellison to rent the house where the murders took place is also a convenient plot device and nothing more. I also very much preferred the way 'Insidious' presented the 'entity'. Here it becomes simply a caricature, albeit a scary one at times.
'Sinister' nonetheless has its good moments and it may satisfy some fans of horror movies. Just be aware of some very gratuitously violent scenes that honestly I do not think they were necessary and add nothing to the plot. Ethan Hawke is a very good actor and carries the movie and I could recommend the movie only for Hawke's performance here. The scenes with his wife were especially well done and very believable. A 5/10 from me.