Sinister (2012) - An Unflinchingly Grim Chiller Worthy of its Title

Not many contemporary mainstream horror films have the nerve to go where director Scott Derrickson and company went in the relentlessly dark and unquestionably unnerving Sinister. It was marketed as another member of the conventional Hollywood horror movie bloodline. These include releases that are popular among general audiences like Paranormal Activity (2007), Insidious (2010), and The Conjuring (2013).

However, in somewhat of a departure from its cinematic siblings, Sinister tells a story that might be difficult to stomach for casual horror fans who like their jump scares with a side of smiles and happy endings. There is little smiling going on here.

The film centers around a true-crime author, played by Ethan Hawke, and his struggles to balance the research he's conducting for a new book and his family, who desperately craves his attention. In pursuit of his new project, he and his family have picked up their lives and moved into a new home, a home that is, unbeknownst to his wife and kids, the former residence of his new book's subjects, who were brutally murdered on the property (a murder that is portrayed in all its grisly detail in the film's lovely opening scene).

The conflict which arises between Hawke's character and the rest of his family provides the emotional impetus for Sinister's story, which admirably tries a lot harder than most modern horror flicks to actually be about something other than scary ghosts and monsters that live in the attic. The script, which was penned by Derrickson along with film-critic-turned-screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, is moderately well-written and explores some interesting thematic territory when it's not trying to scare the pants off of you. There are compelling ideas about how artists sometimes become obsessive about their work and lose sight of all other concerns, and the ways in which we can misguidedly prioritize work over family. These ideas are buried beneath a lot of creepy music and jump scares, but they're in there nonetheless.

Ethan Hawke investigates something creepy in his house
prior to a jump scare...probably

And oh yeah, have I mentioned jump scares? I have? Well, that's because there's a lot of them in Sinister. Too many, if you ask me. The film definitely cedes to a lot of conventional horror movie cliches when it doesn't know what else to do. This involves characters being woken up by a weird noise, investigating the creaky house in the pitch-darkness of the night, and encountering something that makes a loud noise and makes the audience jump instinctively. By design, these sequences are startling, but they don't offer anything lasting or substantive. This is especially true in the movie's first two acts, which are, undoubtedly, pretty predictable.

Sinister eventually breaks out of its formulaic shell and delivers a conclusion that is rather shocking in its bleak and, yes, sinister nature. While there is some head-bangingly stupid behavior on the part of certain characters, that is par for the course in horror movies today. If the ending of this movie doesn't make you squirm a little, you are better constituted than I am. You may need to detox with some ice cream and teddy bear-hugging once the credits roll. There's no shame in that.

All in all, Sinister really isn't half bad. It's pretty good, actually, and definitely one of the more effective mainstream horror films to come around in the 2010s. There are more robust horror offerings out there, for sure. But, you can do much worse than this film.

B

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