Let Down at The End

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2014)

If, for the first hour, you suspend your disbelief, Sinister will be a very scary (if poorly written) horror movie. It has a passable story that's a little all over but all in all easy to ignore.
The only real thing one could commend Sinister on is the excellent focus on buildup and character development for the first hour of the film. The 'Found Footage' films are truly horrifying and a high-point of the movie.
However, when things start kicking off, the scares feel cheap and stupid and sometimes downright nonsensical. The bizarre explanation to the events of the film and of prior murders is poorly thought out and oddly specific.
SPOILER: For instance, the final murder we see ('House Painting'), we expect to follow the same path as the rest, where the suspect is never identified and the (youngest?) child is never seen again. However, if the suspect is never to be identified, how about she doesn't PAINT THE WALL IN BLOOD USING HER FINGER, LEAVING BLOODY FINGERPRINTS ALL OVER THE HOUSE?
The film ends with a cheap and predictable jump scare that involves Mr. Boogie's face jumping into shot. We must ask ourselves why he would get on both knees and lean into the shot (which was at ground level) just to scare us. Unashamedly unnecessary and cheap.
All in all, dumb film with some okay scares if you try not to question it.