Sinister (2012)

Sinister's writer/director Scott Derrickson studied at Biola University - the Bible Institute of Los Angeles - where he earned degrees in Humanities and Communications (film), and minored in theological studies. His interest in the dark and dangerous parts of the narrative of Christianity is apparent in his filmography, directing movies like Hellraiser: Inferno and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Even his The Day The Earth Stood Still remake fits the bill, as it is pretty hellish to try to watch. (Okay, to be fair, I haven't seen it, but I hear it's terrible.)

His latest effort treads similarly unhallowed ground for Derrickson. Sinister tells the story of true-crime author Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke), who moves his family to a small town in order to investigate a grizzly and puzzling murder and write his way to fame and fortune. As Ellison uncovers information about several murders that may be related to the subject of his prospective book, he also finds himself caught up with an obscure and (yes) sinister demonic force. The occult forces at work threaten his sanity, his life, and his family as he comes closer to the truth about the murders.

In a way, we've seen all this before. There are elements of The Ring, The Shining, Manhunter, and so forth throughout - influences that are inescapable.  But the execution of these familiar elements makes Sinister creepy, unsettling, and effective as a horror movie. The intercut 8mm films of the murders, with their herky-jerky visuals and rattling sound, gives the scenes an unnerving quality that couldn't be accomplished with a modern digital video camera. The jittery cinematography of the 8mm films bleeds over into the film proper as Ellison goes deeper into the madness and mystery. The sound effects and noisy Nine Inch Nails-ish music were equally creepy, with a certain quality to them that makes you question which sounds are part of the soundtrack and which are diegetic.

While we do get intriguing glimpses of how the horrific events affect the rest of the family, Sinister is almost entirely Ellison's story, and Ethan Hawke carries it off very well. At times the family drama material threatens to overpower and undermine the horror, but Hawke's strong performance keeps the movie from going off the rails. 

Sinister has a lot of familiar elements, but manages to not seem too cliched. It introduces a new and interesting monster to the horror bestiary that we may well see again in the inevitable sequel (or dare I say, prequel). If you like your horror movies spooky, scary, and bleak, Sinister is a welcome sight at the theaters this October.