Reel Time: Sinister

Now, I know I already did a review of this film on my other blog: mattmonstermovies.blogspot.com But I don't think that was a particularly good review. So let's try again: (Possible spoilers ahead.)

Sinister:
Former true-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt (name inspired by writer Harlan Ellison and comedian/writer Patton Oswalt) moves into a house to write his newest book, in an attempt to re-start his career and get the success he used to have. His story is based on the disturbing tale of a family of five: the mother, father, and two kids were hung from a tree in their backyard, and their youngest daughter Stephanie has been missing for 9 months. The cops don't like him because he does somewhat exploit tragedies and he basically attracts a media circus to small towns. What Ellison doesn't tell his wife and kids is that the house they're living in is actually the house the murder took place in. While moving in, Ellison discovers a black box full of old home movies on Super 8 reels, and finds a camera and projector. He believes this could possibly help him in researching the family. He puts in the film "Family Hanging Out '11", as that is the one closest to the date where the family was killed. He discovers a cheery, but somewhat surreal and eerie film of the family hanging out in their backyard, but he notices the film is made by an outside observer. Suddenly, the footage cuts to a still shot of the family being hung in their backyard. He then discovers the other films are in fact other gruesome murders which take place across the country, spread out throughout time. He also begins to notice a strange, cult-like symbol painted around some of the murders, and a surreal, eerie, demonic figure observing the murders from a distance. With help from the funny local deputy and the intelligent Professor Jonas, he discovers that the figure and symbol may have something to do with an ancient Pagan deity with an appetite for children's souls. As Ellison continues to observe the films, things become more intense, and Ellison decides he's had enough. But is it too late, and has his family become lost in the supernatural? Something that the film must be given credit for is that it is truly frightening. It is an emotionally disturbing and atmospheric film, that works extremely well due to the slow-burning pace. Unfortunately, many of the film's best scares are somewhat spoiled in the bad marketing campaign. The snuff films that Ellison discovers are truly real-looking and extremely disturbing, and the images you see with be burned into your memory for many nights. They all have double-entendre titles, like: "BBQ '79", "Lawn Work '86", "Pool Party '66", and "Sleepy Time '98". The movies are not in chronological order, but in order of shock value, a clever move by the filmmakers. The music in the film is truly breathtaking. Director Scott Derrickson (Exorcism of Emily Rose) gathered songs from genres like black metal, avant garde, and dark ambient from around the internet, from bands like Aghast, Ulver, Aghast Manor, Judgehydrogen, Sun-O))), and Accurst. Each song piece fits the tone of each film, and will haunt your dreams. Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3, Drag Me to Hell, The Grudge, Urban Legend, Ghost Rider, The Gift, The Rum Diary, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hellraiser) also gives a great background score, with a creepy little musical queue for when something otherworldly occurs. Writer C. Robert Cargill (Carlyle of Spill.com fame) truly uses the medium of film well, making the Super 8 films a literally living entity. The design of the villain is truly terrifying, but so simple that it's not distracting. He has very brief appearances, but all are threatening and frightening, and add an oura of mystery to him. The online campaing includes fake news pages about the murders and a motion poster, and are as inventive as the film. Ethan Hawke gives a remarkable performance as Ellison, who can be a douche, but you root for him all the way, so his brutal downfall becomes all the more tragic and horrifying. James Ransone and Vincent D'Onfario give supporting roles as Deputy and Jonas. The deputy gives some great comic relief to help the audience cope with the horror between demon sightings and snuff-film viewings. Fred Dalton Thompson returns to the silver screen as the sherriff. The film never leaves the house for the entire run-time, and as things get more intense, it adds an essence of claustrophobia, stress, and paranoia. The opening shot lets you know what kind of a film you're in for, and it's fucking creepy, and it's not the last time you see stuff like it. As the films get more brutal and terrifying, the camera starts gradually progressing to a point where the camera never cuts back to Ellison, giving the audience less relievance from the horror of the films. There are a few cheesy bits made for the trailer, or for teenagers to shout in the audience during scary parts, and characters do makes some stupid, horror character mistakes, but at least the script gives a valid excuse for this. Ellison does make the stupid mistake of, oh, I don't know, never turning any damn lights on, ever! But you won't care, because the movie holds up enough, and it haunted my dreams for quite a while. Job well done, and I hope a sequel is on it's way soon, as I want more Sinister! I believe this film will be scaring people for the next 50 years. Maybe longer. 5/5 stars.