Sinister
True-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) thinks he may be onto something big in a series of previously unsolved murders while investigating and writing his latest novel. Unbeknownst to his family, the house they’ve just moved into happens to be the scene of a recent and grizzly family slaying; driven by a selfish desire to write his next success Oswalt has kept this secret in hopes of doing a more thorough investigation for his book. Naturally it’s just a matter of time before odd happenings start to grasp his attention. A dark specter has taken notice of their presence, but how to stop such a force from wielding its malevolent powers, and what is the golden thread that ties this series of murders together?
Based on the concept of found super 8 footage the film follows an otherwise formulaic pattern of so many modern ghost stories. A pattern that starts with several jump scares in predictable places, an ambient score based on long droning tones and other “eerie” sounds clanging and distorting, and a stylized bit of editing… to hopefully make up for lack of suspense? As with any horror film, your fear is subjective, based on how much we like the characters, and belief in whatever the monster or ghost or ghoul happens to be at work. With the right mix, fear is almost certain. End result here, a few tense scenes but an overall disappointment once we get our big reveal, proving some of the biggest scares are really in the mind. Maybe a matinee but more so a rental. Sinister is rated R.