Sinister

A few weeks ago, a buddy of mine asked about my thoughts on Sinister, the 2012 film directed by Scott Dickinson. I told him I had enjoyed it when I saw it, but it had been a decade, and I didn’t remember much about the story. The one thing I could recall was that I really enjoyed the atmosphere and vibe of the film.

My friend and I have very similar tastes. If you were to make a Venn Diagram, both of our circles would almost be on top of each other, with just a little room where we vary. I honestly expected him to love the film, but instead, he was disappointed. Not only disappointed, he down right strongly disliked the film. The pacing, the motivation behind the characters… he didn’t have much nice to say about it at all.

The same day we were discussing the film, Paolo, someone else whose film tastes line up pretty well with mine, wrote a review about Sinister that reminded me more of the film that I remembered.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt so conflicted about a film. Did I misremember it, or is this just a film where my friend and I disagree? I decided to give Sinister another watch and see what I thought.

What I Liked About It:

-The sound, the sound, the sound. Did I mention the sound? I don’t get scared easily. After thirty plus years of watching horror movies, I feel like I’ve seen it all and outside of folks just trying to shock you with graphic imagery, there really isn’t anything unique or scary to me visually. But where I think many horror movies fail (usually due to budget) is in the sound. Sound editing is so crucial to triggering some weird primal fear to me, and only two movies come to mind that do an excellent job in triggering this uneasy feeling: Evil Dead (2013) and Sinister. The film uses unnatural sounds and natural sounds to create moments of tension. In some scenes it’s as simple as an 8 mm projector turning on in the dead of the night, in another scene it’s a young boy screaming uncontrollably. These types of things make me feel uneasy, and it’s the closest to being scared I come watching films, and I absolutely love it.

-I feel like the story is influenced by The Shining. I definitely see some parallels in Jack Torrance and Ellison Oswalt’s characters in how they prioritize their writing, struggle with addiction, and their family takes punishment for their passion. Highlighting both characters flaws creates room for the audience to wonder what is truly happening and what might be figments of their imagination. That sort of breathing room was crucial in the storytelling of Sinister and if anything, I feel they could have leaned in a bit more to it.

-The 8mm footage is brilliantly done. It feels authentic, isolated, and voyeuristic.

-Juliet Rylance’s performance of Tracy Oswalt was a scene stealer. At times, it almost felt like you were watching a documentary about a wife trying to process her husband’s selfish actions.

-The character design in the film is unsettling.

What I Didn’t Like About It:

-The movie runs long, which doesn’t help the pacing, since it’s already a bit of a slow burn.

-The ending falls a bit flat, although I enjoyed the twist, I just felt what comes after was a little lackluster.

-Vincent D’Onofrio’s character felt tacked on and underdeveloped. Even when he is on-screen, he doesn’t really add anything to the story, and the final conversation doesn’t move the story forward like it should.

-The Oswalts have two kids, however, the son is basically in two scenes and is forgotten. They should have combined the characters.

Final Thoughts

I still stand by original assessment. Sinister is an enjoyable flick. The story is forgettable, but the atmosphere is terrifying. The sound editing is top-notch, and I love that the movie was able to get slightly under my skin. Is it a 10 out of 10? No way, not even close, but if you don’t mind a bit of a slow burn and prioritize the vibe over death scenes and quick editing, I think there is a lot to like.