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film, Halloween, Horror, horror movies, movies, scary movies, Sinister
Sinister is a supernatural horror film released in 2012, and stars Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance. The film is about a true-crime author who discovers a box of film reels portraying grisly murders in the attic of his new home, but the reels are hiding something more evil than just a string of murders. Sinister was a film that flew under my radar for quite some time. I saw the cover of the blu-ray and decided that I had to watch it because it looked, well, sinister. I’m glad I picked this film up, because I think it’s an underrated horror film that had some great potential.
The first thing I want to point out is how great the super 8 footage is in the film. The opening shot of this film shows off these super 8 reels, and sets the tone for the rest of the film. Each of these reels look and feel like a snuff film, and it feels like you have to shower after watching them. They don’t show too much gore or anything, but it does feel gritty as hell and extremely realistic. These film reels also hide an extremely disturbing looking entity that I think is burned into the recesses of my mind forever. This entity is called Bughuul, and how it pops up throughout the film is very disturbing. Bughuul is present in every super 8 reel, and he appears throughout the film to Ethan’s character. Ethan Hawke is also amazing in this movie. A supremely underrated actor, Hawke’s performance really keeps the film grounded and from feeling as dumb as it could have been. The opening shot to this film is terrifying, and is one of the best opening shots in all of horror in my opinion because of how well it sets up a dreadful atmosphere.
Sinister isn’t perfect, there are some minor flaws throughout the film. There are some really cheap jump scares that derail the tone of dread that the film sets up so well. This film would have done much better if it focused more on the tension that it built, instead of kowtowing to a short attention spanned audience.
Despite its flaws, I still really liked Sinister. It is a hypnotic experience and a deeply frightening film that was weighed down by a horror cliches and exposition dumps. Ethan Hawk’s character had an entire film to carry on his shoulders and honestly he carries it very well. Sinister has some massive untapped potential within, so check it out and see for yourself.