A Sinister Ending.

Rating: 3/10 (21 May 2015)

Sinister (2012): Dir: Scott Derrickson / Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Michael Hall D'Addario, Clare Foley, Vincent D'Onofrio: Sinister is exactly the word to describe this morbid trash. It is yet another hellish horror film where evil conquers just so that we can be promised a miserable sequel that will further rips us off. It stars Ethan Hawke as a struggling writer who moves his family into a house without informing them that the topic of his new book is the series of murders that occurred that resulted in missing children. When he discovers a box of old films in the attic he learns that these are the crimes. After a worthy premise the film becomes a series of noises and a villain that appears with a life of his own in photographs. This character looks like a cross between Jigsaw of the Saw franchise, and Ronald McDonald. Unfortunately viewers will not likely get fries with this. Scott Derrickson previously directed the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still as well as the mediocre Exorcism of Emily Rose. Ethan Hawke holds his own as the paranoid writer starving for fame and neglecting his family. Juliet Rylance has the limited role of wife. Then we have the kids, the son having night terrors, and the daughter painting and ultimately being a pain in the ass. Vincent D'Onofrio has an uncredited role as a professor. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to have his name associated with it. Who can blame him. There is a scene where Hawke burns the old films in the backyard. How apparent would it be if he added this film to the box of reels. That would be a much better ending than what we are left with. Score: 3 ½ / 10