4 out of 5

Director: Scott Derrikson

Some of the bad press for this pitches the overall flick as a cop-out or cheap scares, but the rarity of a film that actually gets me on edge when watching it automatically bumps ‘Sinister’ up several notches, and though the overall flow of events may not lead to the world’s most satisfying ending, it doesn’t cheat or mislead to get to that point, plus giving us some rather fully realized characters along the way.  Ethan Hawke is a true crime writer needing a followup to a big hit he wrote some years back, hoping to find the inspiration he needs when moving into the home where a mass killing of a family took place, the case still unresolved as one of the family’s children was never found.  The local police don’t take kindly to the potential of being outed as missing something, and Hawke’s family is unaware of the history of their new home but wifey is forever worried of her husband sinking into emotional dredges that almost ruined things in the past…  From here you can sketch out the plot of Hawke’s discovery of clues that point to revelations outside the scope of reality… but what sells the hell out of Sinister is how truly CREEPY it is.  Derrickson and his d.p. Chris Norr drench every shot in believable shadows, and the angles are milked for ‘something’s going to happen’ to the breaking point, but unlike Paranormal Activity, there are things happening in frame that are actually important to the story, so it’s not just a waiting game.  Christopher Young’s score is also an amazingly effective undercurrent of ambient spooks (very Silent Hill-ish), and both these lighting and music elements are only put into play when it matters.  The same is true of editing tricks, which Derrickson saves for when things become unhinged, and not just dumb jump cuts at every moment.  Lastly, the script surpasses most horror by making the family real, all of the actors bringing their individual plights to life, especially Hawke’s balance of the quest for fame vs. the need to write.  So, yes, the last moment’s pull-the-curtain away doesn’t terrify in quite the way the lead-up has, and a review of the film won’t have the same richness as, say, The Ring, but ‘Sinister’ legitimately spooked me, and though I don’t “own at least 200 horror movies,” I’ve seen my share.  So: well done.

I quoted the “own” bit from a Netflix review because I am what people call “a jerk.”  Thank yew.