Ellison Oswalt is a writer of true crime novels. His last hit was years ago, with his quest for a repeat performance putting his family in danger.
It’s Ethan Hawke’s performance that allows us to shake off the more obvious jump scares of Sinister. He draws us into the film.
The discovered 8mm footage is suitably sinister, with seemingly innocuous images giving away important details. Ellison’s relationship with his wife also comes across well, as their marriage buckles under strain.
So many horror films have me screaming ‘just leave the house!’ at the protagonists, but Sinister’s use of the home as a part of the story avoids this cliché.
I had a preconceived notion that Sinister would be in a similar vein to Insidious, as it involved children and a demon of some kind. Fortunately Sinister’s second half does not fall into the same trap as the James Wan directed affair, and is much more effective for it.
With surprises and strong performances Sinister will give you something to think about as you turn off the lights.
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