Ethan Hawke as Ellison and Mr. Boogie
I really liked the first ~80% or so of Scott Derrickson’s “Sinister.” It was refreshingly creepy and did not rely on cheap, jerky scares. The cast, led by Ethan Hawke as a tired investigative novelist, was surprisingly strong. The ending, though, was “meh” at best. First, let’s set up the film.
Creepy kids, man.
“Sinister” begins with Ellison Oswalt moving his family to a home where a family (minus one little girl) was hanged in the backyard years prior. OK. That’s fun. He has his reasons, though, you see. Ellison wrote a novel ten years prior called “Kentucky Blood,” a novel wherein he exposed a murder investigation that the police couldn’t quite crack. Ellison became an overnight success, topping the Times bestseller list. In the mean time, he wrote two clunkers that died on the shelves. The book he would write about this new “murder house” would be his knew “Kentucky Blood,” or so he thought. Upon moving in Ellison found a box of old Super-8 film. Weird.
Box of films? Normal.
With title’s like “Sleepy Time” and “Pool Party,” these films seem like fun. They’re not. Actually, they are the opposite of fun. Each film depicts the murder of a family, four in total. All of the murders have two things in common: they all have the image of a man named Mr. Boogie in them, and they all depict the murder of an entire family minus one child. Weird.
At this point, I’m digging the film. It’s creepy enough, not gimmicky, and sporting some solid twists and turns. Then the ending comes. Guess what? It’s all supernatural! Dead kids! A boogie man of sorts! Blah!
Ugh, dead kids.
Yeah, I spoiled it. But I warned you I would. So…don’t worry about it.
Despite it’s weak ending, watch the film. It’s a nice departure from most present-day horror schmuck that makes its way to theaters, scaring 13-year-old teenagers who are holding hands in the theater.
You can watch the movie on Netflix, or view the trailer here.
Grade: B-
Ryan at the Movies 