It's lacking a third act (perhaps intentionally, to heighten unease and terror), but, for the most part, this is well-crafted, terrifying horror done right. Furthermore, it's quite a damning critique of found-footage horror films, though that's clearly of secondary concern. This movie aims to scare, and that it does exceedingly well.

SINISTER

Got to see it Tuesday and it was a decent horror/thriller type film. I thought Ethan Hawke played his role very well. He was very believable. He was a bit whiny at times too. I liked the slow progression of the film and the use of the film reels. I think they could have made the film a bit more gory. I think it was rated R. Overall the film itself is a good one with some nice scares but it isn't completely memorable. Though I do think I would see it again.

The best thing for me, however, about the film was the sound and soundtrack of the film. I thought that was used extremely effectively and some of the music cuts are quite interesting. I plan on buying this item.

Film Grade - B
Soundtrack - A

This is the best horror film of the year sofar, it doesnt say much but it's something.

A-

It may not be perfect, but Sinister is without a doubt an energized, stylish, and suspenseful genre film. The arc of the protagonist, an exhausted true-crime writer in search of a long overdue second hit, rings true and is a bit reminiscent of vintage Stephen King. Scenes of macabre murders captured on Super 8-millimeter and set to atmospheric, hypnotic music are jolting. There are definite big scares, but also a consistent atmosphere of noose-tightening dread and menace. I have a few minor complaints: the showstopper of an actual ending is undermined by a cobweb encrusted cliché of a final moment, and I wish the design of the demonic antagonist were a tad more inspired (read: a bit less Slipknot). In general, though, this is a more than admirable October treat for fans of horror films for adults.

B+

It works. Well-shot (though I sort of hated the very digital look), well-acted, and I appreciated the fact the script actually provided real characters.

Something about it was off. Maybe the sheer predictability -- nearly every scare is telegraphed ("Gee, I wonder if the still image of the baddie on the laptop, which has been in this scene for the entire shot, is going to move..."), and the final twist of who is responsible for each murder is highly obvious well before the film gets to it in a 'shock reveal.' This is also a case of the final scene(s) being inevitable from the start; it's just a matter of how we arrive at that point.

P.S. I am so very, very tired of horror films ending with the ghost/demonic entity shockingly bolting into frame/looking up at me as a scream sound effect plays and we flash to black.

I strongly agree with this. The shot the demon and the daughter going into the film and down the hallway is perfect and organic ending. The final jump scare is old and trite.

I really liked it. This is effectively creepy throughout. Bughuul...is scary as hell.

But yeah, it's also SUPER predictable. Which isn't a surprise for most horror movies, but I kinda expected a little more based on the early reviews, I guess? I don't know. You could just see who the "killer" was for the murders almost immediately.

Still, .

I thought Bughuul looked really, really silly.

Jeez, I sound really negative on this flick when I did enjoy it. I suppose I'm just frustrated that it could have been considerably better with just a few tweaks.

The music is great in this. The Boards of Canada song "Gyroscope" is perfectly utilized.

what did i just pay 10 bucks for? this wouldn't be acceptable even as an episode of some mystery tv show. this is just as lousy, lazy and obsessed with cheap jump scares as "the possession" which i saw a few days earlier. the highlight of all this incompetence must be the sequence where ethan hawke is searching a dark house and his attic for 10 minutes, nothing happens except for one or two lazy jump scares and scary noises that are not scary at all, and he ends up killing a FUCKING SNAKE on his attic. 90% of this movie consists of anticlimatic shit like that that serves no point in telling this movies story (which is pretty lame anyway because you can guess within the first 15 minutes who killed all the families, which makes the "shocking reveal" at the end another one of those entirely pointless scenes). they should make a 40 minutes long directors cut out of this crap - of course that wouldnt make it any better, but at least a bit more endurable.

D

Yeah, I really didn't liked it much either. I was actually pretty bored most of the time, it was just so repetitive.

I thought it was well-crafted with an awesome score and use of sound, but it wasn't nearly as involving as I'd have liked. I feel like most of the movie I was waiting for it to get interesting. Well, more interesting anyway. I didn't find it particularly scary either. It probably sounds like I didn't like it but I did. It's a solid genre effort. But my somewhat high expectations weren't met. It's easy to admire how nicely done it is, but entertainment wise it was a little lacking. I did find the finale pretty freaky.

7/10 ( B )

Sinister

Continuing my viewing of horror movies on a nightly basis, I chose Sinister last night, and while its scares were not effective, I really liked it as a thriller, in the same vein as 8mm and Se7en.

The jump scares did not work for me at all. The thing is, I was there for the taking, I was creeped out by the movie, but then the scares came and..nothing. The ghost faces of the children were very bad, it just looked not scary at all, and the face of Bughuul was scary, but only on the laptop when his face moved before Ethan Hawke could see it, everything else (him at the end etc.) was not scary at all. It should have been, but it wasn't. This review sums up my feelings on the movie:

I loved the story, and Ethan Hawke was a surprise casting. I used to hate him. Now I kind of like him.

Next on my list: Insidious, The Possession, Haunting in Connecticut.

B+

This was definitely one of the scarier moviefilms I've seen in recent years. The music and lighting are both terrific and create an ulta-tense atmosphere.

The ending does leave a sour taste though. I'm fine with everyone dying, Ethan Hawke's character certainly deserved it. Just ... there couldn't be any moment where he displayed a single redeemable quality? Dude is such a cunt to his family The Entire Movie and then they all just die. Great story bro. Just spitballing, but I think an ending where he sends his family away, then we get twist, then he gets sledgehammered would be a lot better. It's basically the same thing, but the cycle of death is at least somewhat disrupted instead of the demon getting a Flawless Victory.

Luckily the ending doesn't ruin what came before it. Just stops it from being an all time classic. B+