A writer searches for more than a story
Ellison Oswalt moves his family into a house where a crime occurred. He hopes that a new true-crime book will match an earlier success. When he discovers a collection of Super 8 films, his research takes a particularly disturbing direction. Sinister connects its external horror with a man whose ambition increasingly dominates family life.
Ethan Hawke makes the obsession believable
Hawke convincingly plays Ellison as an ambitious, increasingly desperate writer. Part of the fear comes from understanding why he continues investigating nevertheless. Juliet Rylance gives his wife Tracy her own response to the pressure. The children also feel believable. Their family consequently remains more than a pretext for further scares.
Images and sounds without reassuring distance
The discovered films have a disturbing immediacy that does not depend on an elaborate monster reveal. Chris Norr’s cinematography connects these recordings with a claustrophobic present. Christopher Young’s dissonant music strengthens the unease. Derrickson certainly uses sudden scares, but the oppressive atmosphere and deepening investigation provide the main effect for me.
Spoilers: detailed discussionContains story spoilers. Open deliberately.
The meaning of the recordings
Ellison’s investigation leads him to Bughuul, an entity connected with the children and the recorded crimes. The discovery consequently becomes much more than material for a book. His desire for renewed success nevertheless keeps him pursuing it. That obsession makes the connection between personal ambition and horror particularly uncomfortable.
Verdict
Sinister is effective for me because its dark atmosphere and Ethan Hawke’s believable performance work together. Ellison’s obsession takes him down a path that destroys him and his family. The horror is therefore not simply outside the person: his insistence on continuing the investigation contributes to the catastrophe. It is a disturbing film whose effect remains after the credits.
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