"Sinister" Will Make U Scream!

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2012)

"Sinister" qualifies as both spooky as well as scary. This clearly superior but derivative haunted house chiller lives up to its atmospheric title. Merriam-Webster defines the adjective 'sinister' as "singularly evil or productive of evil." Furthermore, the dictionary adds 'sinister' portends either misfortune or tragedy. Not surprisingly, "Sinister" wallows in misfortune and tragedy. Alas, too many horror pictures promise more blood, sweat, and screams than they deliver with similar titular adjectives. Fortunately, "Sinister" serves as the exception to this cliché. Writer/director Scott Derrickson and rookie writer C. Robert Cargill have conjured up a genuinely spine-chilling spectacle with found footage that will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of its 109 minutes. You might anticipate some of the scares, but you won't be prepared for the cacophony of sound effects that accompanies each and is calculated to make lesser souls shriek. Squeamish film goers would do well to shun "Sinister." Derrickson has staged four disturbing scenes that unfold individually as smaller films within the film. Actually, these scenes constitute little more than snuff movies. Strictly based on these unsavory moments, "Sinister" amounts to far more than just sinister. Sick might be a more appropriate adjective.
Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke of "Training Day" toplines this enigmatic, bump-in-the-night nail biter with a sure-footed supporting cast that features Fred Dalton Thompson and Vincent D'Onofrio. Ostensibly, the plot concerns a bestselling true-crime author determined to duplicate an earlier literary success. Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) hasn't written a bestseller in about a decade, but he believes he has found the right stuff to write about in a sleepy Pennsylvania town. Four macabre murders where three family members perished in cold blood while an adolescent was abducted obsess this down-on-his-luck writer. Oswalt assures his wife, Tracy (Juliet Rylance of "Animal"), that this project could be the equivalent of what "In Cold Blood" was for Truman Capote. The County Sheriff (Fred Dalton Thompson of "Die Hard 2") wants nothing to do with Oswalt. He abhors the way the author has treated law enforcement in his tomes. Meantime, one of his deputies (James Ransone of "Inside Man") eagerly wants to help Oswalt so the author will acknowledge his contribution in print.
Strange things begin to occur not long after Oswalt and his family move into their new house. Nothing about the house looks ominous. Oswalt discovers a box of Super 8 films with a projector hidden in the attic. He watches these gruesome little films and starts hitting the bottle. Oswalt's son Trevor (Michael Hall D'Addario of "People Like Us") has relapses of nightmares or what his parents refer to as 'night terrors' that they thought he had out-grown. Trevor learns about the murders and paints a picture of them at his new school. Naturally, Tracy isn't happy about this incident. Later, while he is prowling around in the attic, Oswalt crashes through the ceiling and injures his leg. Eventually, he breaks down and informs long suffering Tracy that they are living in the same house where the previous family was hanged from a tree in the backyard and their daughter disappeared without a trace. Tracy becomes hysterical and demands that they leave. Now, Oswalt begins to have second thoughts, especially when he finds extended cuts of the very same films that he incinerated. They cannot pack up soon enough to get out of town. Nevertheless, trouble follows them.
Along the way, Derrickson and Cargill conjure up a devilish ghoul named Bughuul. This elusive demon behaves like Freddy Kruger with his razor-blade-tipped fingers, and Bughuul (stunt man Nicolas King of "The Green Hornet") lurks on the periphery of the murders in each small film. Somehow, Bughuul can migrate between the real world and the cinematic world without any problems and wreck havoc. The filmmakers give him a face that resembles the creepy doll in the "Saw" film franchise. Apparently, Bughuul—otherwise known by the kids as Mr. Boogie—exerts a hypnotic influence over children and can convince them do his bidding. If Derrickson and Cargill play their cards correctly, they could parlay a franchise out of this frightening film that combines elements of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson and the snuff saga "8MM" with Nicolas Cage. Homages to classics such as "Blow-Up," "Manhunter," "Saw," "Jeepers Creepers," show up. "Indisputably, "Sinister" ranks as Derrickson at the top of his game after previous outing such as the tedious "Exorcism of Emily Rose" and the anemic remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Derrickson manages to make even ordinary action, like threading up a film projector, appear suspenseful. Unfortunately, despite its marvelously menacing aura, "Sinister" keeps Mr. Boogie confined to the periphery so Oswalt and he never have a face-to-face confrontation.