Don't play the films!

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2012)

Scott Derrickson. Get used to the name. As we speak he's got five horror projects on the go, including a 'Poltergeist' remake. His 'Sinister' deftly sidesteps most clichés of the genre and manages to be genuinely frightening. Filmed using only the barest light, Derrickson ratchets up tension and knows exactly when to press the 'scare' button. He doesn't waste time with false alarms. If he means to scare, he does so at the first attempt. And boy does he succeed.
Ethan Hawke plays Ellison Oswalt, a struggling true-crime writer desperate to equal the success of his magnum opus, 'Kentucky Blood'. He persuades his English wife (RADA-trained Juliet Rylance) and two kids to move into a house with a macabre history which, of all people, the local Sheriff urges them to leave.
Oswalt discovers a box of old 8mm films in the attic. Curiosity gets the better of him and he plays them. Each starts innocently enough, showing a family playing or swimming, but end with them being horrifically murdered by a faceless killer. Although what he sees is enough to turn him into an alcoholic and destroy his family, he sits through all the films, believing that the (unsolved) murders provide the material to write 'the best book anyone has ever read' (I noticed he doesn't say 'ever written').
Technology, that bane of every modern filmmaker is manipulated superbly here. Oswalt resourcefully learns how to edit a film reel after one catches fire, and, with a hacker's dexterity, uses his laptop to piece together information about the murders. While editing images from the scenes, he notices a chilling figure, resembling a much scarier version of 'The Crow'. My heart stopped when the figure turns its head towards us.
The inclusion of Ethan Hawke, a solid but underused actor, is a reason why this film eclipses most horrors of the past decade. He conveys fear so well, and acts brilliantly when confronting supernaturalism. Vincent D'Onofrio has an excellent cameo as the occult expert, who provides Oswalt with information on paganism via Skype.
Not since 2004's 'Saw' have I been this impressed with a horror film. It's perhaps the most difficult genre to get right because, as Scott Derrickson knows only too well, we just aren't scared of anything anymore. Apart from 'Sinister', that is.