If you’ve been following my reviews recently, you’ll know I have been covering the ‘top five scariest films of all time’ according to a recent scientific study by BroadbandChoices. It’s certainly been a mostly enjoyable experience but I’m sure if you’ve read all of them so far (Paranormal Activity, Hereditary, The Conjuring, and Insidious) you’ll have noticed a trend in that I don’t seem to find them all that scary, regardless of the quality of the actual film. So whilst Paranormal Activity can be unnerving on a first watch, Hereditary can linger on your mind for a while, and The Conjuring & Insidious provide some cheap shocks that last little more than a few seconds; I have to admit that the number one entry on the list genuinely shits me up a little bit.
True crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves his family to a new home in order to be closer to the story of his next book. So close in fact that he moves into the very home where the grisly mass murder took place. The home formerly belonged to the Stephenson’s who were hung from a tree in the back garden whilst one of the daughters, Stephanie, went missing. Ellison finds a set of old Super 8 film reels and a projector in the attic, the reels depict not only the murder of the Stephenson’s, but also four other mass homicides that share similarities to the Stephenson murders despite being decades apart from each other.
As Ellison begins to dig deeper and look into the connection between the murders, he begins to suspect paranormal forces at play and grows concerned that he and his family are next on the chopping block.
I’m going to start off by saying that Sinister is how you do horror right, even whilst relying on jump scares. I’m not a fan of jump scares, they’re often utilised by filmmakers and studios who simply want to make a quick buck by getting some teens to scream because they played a loud noise at the same time as showing a scary face on the screen. They often add nothing to the film and are usually so poorly constructed or over-utilised that they simply aren’t scary.
Sinister on the other hand is constantly increasing the suspense with its genuinely unsettling subject matter, grizzly snuff film segments, fantastic light and sound design, and perfect pacing. So, when the jump scares do come, you’re already such a nervous wreck that they send you over the edge rather than just making your heart beat slightly quicker. The jump scares in this film are earned through the filmmakers squeezing every last ounce of fear from you during even the safest of scenes.
True crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves his family to a new home in order to be closer to the story of his next book. So close in fact that he moves into the very home where the grisly mass murder took place. The home formerly belonged to the Stephenson’s who were hung from a tree in the back garden whilst one of the daughters, Stephanie, went missing. Ellison finds a set of old Super 8 film reels and a projector in the attic, the reels depict not only the murder of the Stephenson’s, but also four other mass homicides that share similarities to the Stephenson murders despite being decades apart from each other.
As Ellison begins to dig deeper and look into the connection between the murders, he begins to suspect paranormal forces at play and grows concerned that he and his family are next on the chopping block.
I’m going to start off by saying that Sinister is how you do horror right, even whilst relying on jump scares. I’m not a fan of jump scares, they’re often utilised by filmmakers and studios who simply want to make a quick buck by getting some teens to scream because they played a loud noise at the same time as showing a scary face on the screen. They often add nothing to the film and are usually so poorly constructed or over-utilised that they simply aren’t scary.
Sinister on the other hand is constantly increasing the suspense with its genuinely unsettling subject matter, grizzly snuff film segments, fantastic light and sound design, and perfect pacing. So, when the jump scares do come, you’re already such a nervous wreck that they send you over the edge rather than just making your heart beat slightly quicker. The jump scares in this film are earned through the filmmakers squeezing every last ounce of fear from you during even the safest of scenes.
Director Scott Derrickson has really created a horrifying monster of a film and most of that comes from the look and sound of it. The film becomes more erratic as time goes on, adding to your anxiety as you watch it. Where the film opens with longer periods of time between cuts, come the second half of the film the cuts are happening so rapidly that you’re looking through your fingers because you’re terrified of where the camera will cut to next.
The Super 8 film sequences which depict the family murders were all filmed on actual Super 8 film giving them a real nostalgic quality. It’s odd seeing a film format that is so synonymous with warmth and family memories being turned into a weapon against the viewer. Super 8’s inherently grainy appearance combined with the handheld nature of the camera used present some sequences that are genuinely terrifying and look unbelievably real. The murders themselves are all extremely graphic, not gory or bloody as such, but difficult to watch nonetheless.
This excellent camera work and editing is combined with some incredible sound design. The score is both bone chilling and anxiety inducing, particularly when paired with the murder footage is extremely difficult to tell if its diegetic or non-diegetic which adds to the mystery and reality of it all. It’s one of my favourite film scores and I can’t help but feel paranoid and vulnerable when I listen to it.
Ethan Hawke is fantastic as Ellison. You can really buy into this guy’s obsessive need to crack the case and make his next big novel. You can also understand how he begins to psychologically crumble the deeper he delves into the case due to the stress he is putting himself under, and the stress he is having placed upon him by his wife Tracey (Juliet Rylance). Despite Rylance’s great performance, Tracey is absolutely the weakest aspect of Sinister. Her character seemingly exists to remind Ellison about how much she hates his job, and that it’s really not appropriate for him to do that kind of work if he has a family (despite him being a true crime writer before they were married and had kids), and how his children’s psychological problems are all his fault because he writes about murders in the seclusion of his office which is locked at all times and the kids can’t access. She is nothing more than a nagging annoyance who if she really had an issue with Ellison’s job would have left him years ago. I don’t know why she exists or what purpose she serves, but she’s there…and she’s really annoying.
I'm also not a huge fan of the ending. What happens isn't necessarily the problem but it's how it happens that I have an issue with. If we didn't see Ellison's fate play out in real time, but instead witnessed it as one of the Super 8 films found by someone else then I think the ending would have been much more impactful and creepy. What we get instead just feels drawn out and lacking any real creepiness.
I cannot say whether Sinister is the absolute scariest film of all time, but I can say that Sinister creeps me the hell out and there aren’t many films that hold that title. It is a film that once I finish watching it, I do not want to be alone, I don’t want to be in the dark, and I sure as hell don’t want to watch any of my home movies. Sinister scares me and I love that it does. It’s also an expertly crafted film; whilst it doesn’t break horror conventions, or even try to do anything different with them, it makes sure that everything has a purpose and is as refined as it can be. If you consider yourself a fan of horror you absolutely must check Sinister out.
The Super 8 film sequences which depict the family murders were all filmed on actual Super 8 film giving them a real nostalgic quality. It’s odd seeing a film format that is so synonymous with warmth and family memories being turned into a weapon against the viewer. Super 8’s inherently grainy appearance combined with the handheld nature of the camera used present some sequences that are genuinely terrifying and look unbelievably real. The murders themselves are all extremely graphic, not gory or bloody as such, but difficult to watch nonetheless.
This excellent camera work and editing is combined with some incredible sound design. The score is both bone chilling and anxiety inducing, particularly when paired with the murder footage is extremely difficult to tell if its diegetic or non-diegetic which adds to the mystery and reality of it all. It’s one of my favourite film scores and I can’t help but feel paranoid and vulnerable when I listen to it.
Ethan Hawke is fantastic as Ellison. You can really buy into this guy’s obsessive need to crack the case and make his next big novel. You can also understand how he begins to psychologically crumble the deeper he delves into the case due to the stress he is putting himself under, and the stress he is having placed upon him by his wife Tracey (Juliet Rylance). Despite Rylance’s great performance, Tracey is absolutely the weakest aspect of Sinister. Her character seemingly exists to remind Ellison about how much she hates his job, and that it’s really not appropriate for him to do that kind of work if he has a family (despite him being a true crime writer before they were married and had kids), and how his children’s psychological problems are all his fault because he writes about murders in the seclusion of his office which is locked at all times and the kids can’t access. She is nothing more than a nagging annoyance who if she really had an issue with Ellison’s job would have left him years ago. I don’t know why she exists or what purpose she serves, but she’s there…and she’s really annoying.
I'm also not a huge fan of the ending. What happens isn't necessarily the problem but it's how it happens that I have an issue with. If we didn't see Ellison's fate play out in real time, but instead witnessed it as one of the Super 8 films found by someone else then I think the ending would have been much more impactful and creepy. What we get instead just feels drawn out and lacking any real creepiness.
I cannot say whether Sinister is the absolute scariest film of all time, but I can say that Sinister creeps me the hell out and there aren’t many films that hold that title. It is a film that once I finish watching it, I do not want to be alone, I don’t want to be in the dark, and I sure as hell don’t want to watch any of my home movies. Sinister scares me and I love that it does. It’s also an expertly crafted film; whilst it doesn’t break horror conventions, or even try to do anything different with them, it makes sure that everything has a purpose and is as refined as it can be. If you consider yourself a fan of horror you absolutely must check Sinister out.