Avoid the trailer, watch it cold & clench your buttocks. Or watch the trailer and have the experience spoilt.

Rating: 7/10 (23 October 2012)

It was with great trepidation that I took my seat for Sinister. I often veer away from horror films, as frequently they tend to be less about chilling and more about shocking with gratuitous violence. No sensitivity required, just a strong stomach and a certain bloodlust. The likes of Hostel and the latter Saw gore-fests may have made mucho $$$ but were never going to trouble Oscar or satisfy a discerning audience in the way The Exorcist still manages.
Oh, and I was clenching my buttocks even before the lights dimmed having read a fellow reviewer's comment: I have never heard a female audience member scream as loud as I heard last night...
Oh, dear.
Post event? Well, the midnight drive home through dark, winding country lanes wasn't the most fun I've had on my own but Sinister is nowhere near the terrifying experience that some would have you believe. If you've seen the trailer, you know what's going to happen, you'll know when the biggest shocks are coming and there is nothing left to be surprised by. If you haven't, I'd urge you to ignore the link above and go into Sinister blind and completely unprepared in order to benefit fully. When is Hollywood going to relearn the art of 'teasers' rather than feeding us 'show all the best bits' trailers that destroy the experience? Watching Sinister after viewing the trailer is akin to sitting through The Others when you know they are ghosts.
Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) is a 'true-crime' writer whose success has dwindled. Close to financial ruin, he uproots his family and moves to a new home, neglecting to tell them it is the scene of the murders in his latest book. Oswalt then finds a Super 8 projector and spools of films in the attic. Spools of film that show grisly scenes. And then bad things happen. Very bad things.
There is more than a whiff of Jack Torrance about Oswalt but that is almost inevitable given his career choice and location (author writing in a building with dark secrets). However, the hints of madness, the inner torture and the genuine fear with which Hawke imbues Oswalt are original and not lifted from another character. His determination that evolves into stubbornness, teeters on the edge of insanity and then tumbles into considered panic is real enough to feel from the safety of a cinema seat and highlights again the quality of Hawke. Perhaps true movie stardom has bypassed him but he consistently gives fine performances and is an actor who will paint multi-faceted characters for us to watch, admire and shy from for a great many years yet.
The lack of impact from the supporting actors implies a heavy-handed editor or over-bearing producer. Juliet Rylance is given little to do as Oswalt's wife, Tracy, other than to react to his actions. Likewise, the children, Trevor and Ashley, feel as though there was more given to them that was consigned to the cutting room floor. Yes, they have an impact, they are important to the plot in their own ways but neither is allowed to develop fully. Upon arrival at the house, Oswalt verbally spars with the sheriff and we see the mutual contempt they feel for each other's roles but again, this left unexplored and the most we get is a cameo, that is almost humorous but never really effective, in the shape of a cop forever known as Deputy So-and-so.
But, flaws aside, Sinister is a film of tension, a film that, given a dark room, no fore-warning and the right mindset, will really put the willies up you, not least of all for the soundtrack. The music frequently feels little more than moans, screeches and rhythmic noise that claws its way under the skin and scratches at the underside of your hair follicles.
Inevitably, given the success of the Paranormal Activity series, writer/director Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) has set Sinister up for both sequels and prequels. But with his next film an adaptation of Stephen King's The Breathing Method, it remains to be seen if he takes the easy money or leaves it to another b-lister on the rise. Regardless, Sinister is a film that currently belongs at the top of his CV.
Now switch the light off, try to ignore the banging and creaking in the attic and sleep well
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