Enjoyed Ethan Hawke's performance. The use of sound was successful in creating an ominous and uncomfortable atmosphere and the plot was rather interesting as well. The end of the film, however, felt extremely rushed and lazy and left me unsatisfied.
This movie was simply 'meh'. Most of the time I was laughing rather than feeling scared. The main character's stupidity and ego was so great (typical of a horror character but a bit over the top this time) that it was laugh out loud hilarious to me, and to the rest of the audience I watched it with.
The parts of the movie where the tension was amped up were very effective but were only put there to set up stupid jump scares you could see coming a mile away.
I did like the tone of the film as well as the actors, but I felt like the jump scares and all the exposition let it down. The snuff films that the main character finds and watches were disturbing enough, they didn't need to resort to dumb predictable scares when they had strong material like that to work with.
Ultimately the movie didn't know what it wanted to be. It was meant to be a serious supernatural film plus a character study but the jump scares spoiled it. Also the movie left nothing ambiguous which I felt could've made it more intriguing overall.
There were some bright spots though, like I said. Ethan Hawke played his part well, the kids were unexpectedly likeable, and the dumb deputy sheriff was charming. Also the 'found footage' itself was quite harrowing and it was a pity the film was unintentionally comical in other places since it had a lot going for it.
Ultimately good for one watch but not a rewatch because I was too disappointed by the squandered potential.
This is a solid scary film, no doubt about it. Good atmosphere, a very dark story, good use of imagery, very high production and quality performances put this a step above most of the horror dross we have to put up with. Doesn't re-invent the genre, but does everything it attempts very well.
Tries nothing new. Predictable and just repeats the 'family moves into new house hear strange noises in the night then all die' storyline we've seen in Insidious, The Possession and Paranormal Activity.
Sinister definitely relies too heavily on jump scares for my tastes, but does manage a great, creepy atmosphere with Ethan Hawke comfortable as always playing "obsessive" as a true crime writer who moves his family in a house where an unsolved mass murder took place. Obviously, there's going to be a supernatural element, but I kind wish there wasn't. The film works so well as a paranoia-inducing deep dive into the mind of a serial killer that I think it would have worked better if Hawke's character had been imagining the unexplained phenomena that besieges him. The final act doesn't quite do it for me, in part because it feels like a Torchwood episode I didn't care for, made a few years before this film. The set-up is so good (including the family dynamic and the visiting cop characters who help/hinder Hawke) that it's just too bad it goes for horror tropes at the end.
This had a great atmosphere, helped by a fantastically spooky soundtrack and sound design, until the ghost kids with poor make-up show up to puncture the scariness. everything after that is a bit bland. Still, if you're looking for horror films that rely on jump scares, this is one of the best.
Aaaaaaand once again they go totally maniac Hollywood crazy at the end, completely destroying the great potential of this story. Here's a tip for ya; if you want to make kids scary, look at what Stanley Kubrick did in The Shining with the twins.
What saves this from being a total disappointment is Ethan Hawke. He really brought something real to the screen with his great performance.
Nothing new when it comes to storyline. Ethan Hawk is a good actor, but Juliet Rylance's performance was horrible. All that aside, it was scary! And if that's all that matters to you, you will enjoy this film. I did.
I had pretty low expectations but ended up enjoying it. The characters, however, were spectacularly flat and one-dimensional (also, most of them felt useless and annoying) and the ending felt somewhat rushed. But the atmosphere was well built and it did creep me out nicely at parts.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 26
ArtiVlora
Enjoyed Ethan Hawke's performance. The use of sound was successful in creating an ominous and uncomfortable atmosphere and the plot was rather interesting as well. The end of the film, however, felt extremely rushed and lazy and left me unsatisfied.Aissi
Great build-up, fairly predictable, rather disappointing ending. And, as CSSCHNEIDER says, a music cue before every jump scare.havealemon
This movie was simply 'meh'. Most of the time I was laughing rather than feeling scared. The main character's stupidity and ego was so great (typical of a horror character but a bit over the top this time) that it was laugh out loud hilarious to me, and to the rest of the audience I watched it with.The parts of the movie where the tension was amped up were very effective but were only put there to set up stupid jump scares you could see coming a mile away.
I did like the tone of the film as well as the actors, but I felt like the jump scares and all the exposition let it down. The snuff films that the main character finds and watches were disturbing enough, they didn't need to resort to dumb predictable scares when they had strong material like that to work with.
Ultimately the movie didn't know what it wanted to be. It was meant to be a serious supernatural film plus a character study but the jump scares spoiled it. Also the movie left nothing ambiguous which I felt could've made it more intriguing overall.
There were some bright spots though, like I said. Ethan Hawke played his part well, the kids were unexpectedly likeable, and the dumb deputy sheriff was charming. Also the 'found footage' itself was quite harrowing and it was a pity the film was unintentionally comical in other places since it had a lot going for it.
Ultimately good for one watch but not a rewatch because I was too disappointed by the squandered potential.
Cimeries
This is a solid scary film, no doubt about it. Good atmosphere, a very dark story, good use of imagery, very high production and quality performances put this a step above most of the horror dross we have to put up with. Doesn't re-invent the genre, but does everything it attempts very well.CSSCHNEIDER
Great atmosphere is created and not capitalized on in this dull vehicle for music cue induced jump scares. Interesting premise but useless film.mightysparks
Predictable and over reliant on jump scares, but does have a genuinely chilling atmosphere and is pretty entertaining.samfenn
Tries nothing new. Predictable and just repeats the 'family moves into new house hear strange noises in the night then all die' storyline we've seen in Insidious, The Possession and Paranormal Activity.Don't bother.
BenShee
For some reason the premise of this movie has weirdly stuck with me. It was decent scary, but left me unsatisfied and generally unimpressed.Siskoid
Sinister definitely relies too heavily on jump scares for my tastes, but does manage a great, creepy atmosphere with Ethan Hawke comfortable as always playing "obsessive" as a true crime writer who moves his family in a house where an unsolved mass murder took place. Obviously, there's going to be a supernatural element, but I kind wish there wasn't. The film works so well as a paranoia-inducing deep dive into the mind of a serial killer that I think it would have worked better if Hawke's character had been imagining the unexplained phenomena that besieges him. The final act doesn't quite do it for me, in part because it feels like a Torchwood episode I didn't care for, made a few years before this film. The set-up is so good (including the family dynamic and the visiting cop characters who help/hinder Hawke) that it's just too bad it goes for horror tropes at the end.ChrisReynolds
This had a great atmosphere, helped by a fantastically spooky soundtrack and sound design, until the ghost kids with poor make-up show up to puncture the scariness. everything after that is a bit bland. Still, if you're looking for horror films that rely on jump scares, this is one of the best.Jaqo
Aaaaaaand once again they go totally maniac Hollywood crazy at the end, completely destroying the great potential of this story. Here's a tip for ya; if you want to make kids scary, look at what Stanley Kubrick did in The Shining with the twins.What saves this from being a total disappointment is Ethan Hawke. He really brought something real to the screen with his great performance.
BLJNBrouwer
Doing research on Bughuul after seeing the movie in the middle of the night with Chris Young's soundtrack on is not recommended...R.Jay
Nothing new when it comes to storyline. Ethan Hawk is a good actor, but Juliet Rylance's performance was horrible. All that aside, it was scary! And if that's all that matters to you, you will enjoy this film. I did.Rasheru
I had pretty low expectations but ended up enjoying it. The characters, however, were spectacularly flat and one-dimensional (also, most of them felt useless and annoying) and the ending felt somewhat rushed. But the atmosphere was well built and it did creep me out nicely at parts.americanadian25
A memorable atmospheric horror flick with a solid performance from Ethan Hawke.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQiCqkP7xIw
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