Sinister

Horror movies have been running out of steam lately, and with the novelty of the ‘found footage’ films fast wearing off, it would seem Hollywood is running out of ideas fast. In this sense, Sinister offers new and intriguing themes and ideas which make it stand out from the sea of gore and scream scares that fill most scary movies at the moment.

The movie combines the almost dark fairy-tale story of a being who feeds on children, with the stark grittiness of murders caught on video tape. When Ellison moves his wife and two children into a house where a family was hung to death from a tree in the back yard (always a great idea), he finds reels of film with murders dating back to the 1960s. The entire film is unsettling and you won’t be left any room to feel comfortable right from the get-go, but in the best way possible.

An added bonus is the acting, which avoids the horror-film stereotype of being tacky and overemotional, and the styling is realistic and, at times, gorgeous to look at, in spite of all the tension. Visually the film does stand out and it’s perhaps worth watching for that alone.

However, the scenes do all have believable emotional impacts, and while the plot does strain at times to keep itself fresh, there is a certain dread throughout the whole film in knowing where it might be headed, and in the end you’ll leave feeling a little, well, sinister.

Muhammad Bhatti