Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
1/4
A loosely written clumsy horror film
sreekirch - wrote on 03/21/2013
Derrickson does the treatment a mishap. I was never hooked for the film. Just took a try. Literally the cumbersome plot does not make sense. The boogie man is neither haunting nor threatening. Sinister is a wooden spoon according to me. Ethan Hawke is not appealing. He can do really better than this. Derrickson takes the film to the trash.
An aspiring writer along with his family goes for a change from his house. He finds some rare tapes recorded in super 8. The film loses track as it progresses. Then, when things get tight, film lacks focus and gets to the junk yard. The climax is somewhat surprising, and does have a mixed feeling to me. Sinister works only for the video footages of super 8 camera. It has weakness all over. The drama gets boring. The lengthy conversations saturate …
Rating of
3/4
It Leaves a (Sinister) Impression
Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/18/2013
I consider myself a horror fan, and while I enjoy the whole blood and guys angle now and then, I much prefer the films that are more about atmosphere and digging down into the recesses of your mind rather than some guy in a mask killing indiscriminately. Sinister is one of those films that will get under your skin and linger - and while the payoff is not quite as good as the buildup, it's still one of the best horror films to come out in awhile.
We open on a shot of a family of four, captured on video, as they are hung from a tree. We then join true crime novelist Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) and his family as they move into a new house. It seems times aren't so good for Oswalt after his runaway first novel, Kentucky Blood, hit it big, he hasn't been able to write a worthy followup …
Rating of
2/4
Trailer is scarier than the actual product!!
Lee - wrote on 12/03/2012
I guess seeing this in the theatre up on the big screen would make this more scary then it was (I was priveledged enough to see a home copy that was lent to me by a freind of mine who gets screeners sent to him) However that being said i would have to say over all the film itself was creepy but i guess i dont scare that easily as i only jumped once or twice (Unlike movies like the Paranormal films where you can find me plastered to the ceiling) the scariest thing about this flick was the soundtrack...plan on looking for a copy of this to buy and play on the next Halloween!
I also have to mention that the storyline here was one of the creepiest i have seen in a while... Ethan Hawke portrays true crime novelist Elison Oswalt who after having a run of bad books moves his family of 4 …
Rating of
3/4
Sinister indeed
Jake - wrote on 10/30/2012
Upon further review I must give sinister a higher rating. No film this year (at least non-foreign) have given me such an intense creepiness that burrowed under my skin, and took me a day or so to shake. (Waking up in the middle of the night with my door mysteriously didn't help matters.) Is it a masterpiece? Not by a long shot, but it's so damn disturbing, thanks in part to one of the most intensely creepy sound tracks to come along since the The Ring. It also has some truly jarring scares, which are used sparingly. Ethan Hawke is great as a struggling true-crime writer (reminding me of Stephen King.) It's only in the last 15 or so minutes that the film loses steam. Once the mystery is gone, so is the tension. But kudos to Scott Derickson, because despite the faults, he still makes it so …
Rating of
3/4
Sinister indeed
Jacob Zembower - wrote on 10/25/2012
Sinister is far from perfect, but it must be said that it had my stomach in knots as I watched it. It's a very, very, creepy film. The featured murder tapes are just plain spine-chilling, thanks in part to one of the scariest horror soundtracks to come along since The Ring. Ethan Hawke is also very good in his role. The ending may be a tad disappointing and weak, but it's the build-up to it that is tops. I haven't jumped so much in the theater in a long time. Fortunately the director doesn't rely on cheap frights, there is an underlying menace to the proceedings that creep under the skin and makes the tension thick and sustained. And again, that soundtrack, is enough to haunt your nightmares on its own. Definitely a worthy, intense, american horror effort that is worth seeing in the …
Rating of
3/4
Review: Sinister
MikePA - wrote on 10/13/2012
For the last couple of years, I've always had light expectations when it came to horror films. That's because they've been so effortless and cheesy and ridiculously bad, and the ones that look great aren't so great. The last horror film I remember having high anticipations for was last year's Insidious, which I thought was average. 2012 has been a mostly poor year for the horror genre, with the disappointing The Woman in Black and Prometheus, and the dreadfully bad V/H/S and The Devil Inside. The Cabin in the Woods and The Innkeepers were the only horror films this year that I liked, and since I first saw the trailer for Sinister, I ain't gonna lie, I had high hopes. Is Sinister actually good?
Fortunately, the answer is a big YES. Sinister is a horror movie that works. It's smart, …
