SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST: SINISTER

Sinister is a film that actually lives up to it's titular name, it is indeed quite sinister and quite fucked up.

In Sinister, we follow  true crime novelist Ellison (Ethan Hawke), who is desperate to relive his 15 minutes of fame that came and went after he wrote a best selling book called Kentucky Blood. Hot on the trail of an unsolved crime that he belives could be his next big book, Ellison makes the unwise choice of moving his family into the house where the murder occurred (without telling them what happened there or the true reason why they moved there). While unpacking their things, Ellsion comes across a box of old super 8 recordings. Curious, he begins to view the recordings and soon finds himself neck deep in something far bigger than he could have ever imagined.

Fred Dalton Thomas does a great job as the sherriff of the town that Ellison and crew move into, and James Ransone is superb as Deputy So-and-So, a not-so-dimwitted deputy that Ellison recruits into his investigation. In another film Deputy So-and-So would be a bumbling idiot that is called on for help but dies a grisly murder, but in Sinister his character actually provides a lot of help to Ellison and  serves an important purpose in the film. He's not just your typical throw-away cop.

 The child actors in the film are fine, but aren't all that memorable (Clare Foley's performance as daughter Ashley left much to be desired in my opinion, while Michael Hall D'Addario as son Trevor did just fine and managed to be somewhat memorable). Juliet Rylance as Ellison's wife Tracy doesn't add much to the film, her shining moment being an intense argument she has with Ellsion near the end of the film.

Ethan Hawke plays our protagonist Ellison, and this is HIS film. The film centers around him, and we are placed into his footsteps (whether we like it or not). What's interesting is that Ellsion really isn't all that likeable of a character, in fact, he's kind of an asshole (I'd say 70% of an asshole).  He continually puts himself before his family, and knowingly and willingly places them in great danger all so he can relive his 15 minutes of fame. As I said before, he's not the best guy. Here's the thing though, I don't believe we're supposed to like him. He's not supposed to be the hero, he's supposed  to be a human being with weaknesses. This is a very rare choice for a horror movie character. Ethan Hawke does a superb job here, nailing the character and succeeding in getting audiences to care for and even kind of like his character despite his flaws.

The writing for the film is quite good. C. Robert Cargill wrote the script and manages to prove that he knows what he's doing, crafting characters that aren't your typical cliches, but are the most human characters I have seen in a while (I like how he chose to make Ellison a writer, a nice touch that helped me to sympathize with that character and understand his motivations.). While some characters do make a few dumb descisions, these descisions HAVE to be made in order to move the plot along.  Cargill manages to craft a good horror story that has classic elements mixed in with a few modern twists, and what's more.... the film actually stays with you.

 Sinsiter is easily one of the better horror films I have seen of late. It's smart, it contains some genuinely creepy imagery, while the ending twist isn't all that surprising I still like where the film chose to go with it's ending, and the story is pretty strong despite some common horror tropes. Sinister will probably emerge as this year's best horror film. Sinister chilled me to the bone, and it stayed with me (pretty sure I'll have dreams about this one), and isn't that what every good horror film is supposed to do?

4 STARS