DAY TWENTY-EIGHT - SINISTER (2012)
Such a creepy and original film! I was enthralled when this movie came out because it just seemed so fresh and spooky. And boy did I get scared the first time I watched. I was jumping through the damn roof at about 4 am while I watched it on my laptop huddled under a blanket. Sinister quickly became one of my go-to horror films and I love recommending it to newbies.
Sinister was directed by Scott Derrickson (Devil's Knot and Deliver us from Evil) and stars Ethan Hawke as Ellison who is a true-crime writer. He moves his family to a new town and a new house to write about a new crime. What he doesn't mention to his family is that he's moved them into the house where the murder occurred. Shortly after moving in he finds a box of video reels in the attic and watches them, on the films are horrific murders of families. After some investigation he believes the crime he's there to investigate is in fact tied to all of these murders and that perhaps he's looking at a serial killer. Excited, he teams up with a dorky and adorable police officer who is a huge fan of Ellison, and the two of them discover that this is not some crazed serial killer...but a child stealing deity.
The pagan deity is named Bughuul and he's known for killing entire families but taking one of their children into his horrible realm in order to consume their soul. But now that Ellison has watched the movies and discovered Bughuul, the demon is after him. He's decided Ellison and his family are his next meal.
Bughuul remains incredibly creepy throughout the film because you only ever catch glimpses of him - hiding in the bushes, a smear on the computer screen etc. The scares start off subtle and progress into straight up jumpy moments by the end of the film. Hawke's portrayal of Ellison is spot on and 100% believable. His desperation to regain the fame he once had regardless of the dead families stories he is using to get there is so powerful. The struggle his own family feels as they watch him get completely absorbed in a new murder, leaving them behind. It's heartbreaking as well as terrifying.
The writer of this film C. Robert Cargill gained his inspiration from a nightmare he had where he found a film in his attic depicting a family being murdered. When creating Bughuul, Cargill wanted to re-invent the boogeyman.
What I think I enjoy most about this film is that there is a shocking lack of gore. Everything is really just left up to the imagination and it creates the most horrific scenes while watching. That's tough to pull off, but Sinister did a damn good job. Some of those murder films will haunt me forever. That lawnmower....good god, no.
I think Sinister is a great horror film. I love it dearly. Did it need a sequel? nope. Will I watch it and hate every minute of it? yes. BUT Sinister alone is fantastic and deserves a watch. 9/10
I did my presentation today! It went well I thought, everyone seemed to really enjoy it and I had a few people after come up to me for movie reccomendations and a few who were excited to watch some of the movies I talked about. Which I think is pretty great considering only two people in that room actually like horror movies. I went dressed as Jason because I'm never going to pass up a chance to wear my Jason jersey out in public. The rest of the office dressed up as French kiss which basically means you dress like a stereotypical french person but with KISS makeup. It was a great day!
Only three more movies left and then that's a wrap on October! Then only a month and some change until the new Star Wars movie.
Stay Spooky!
