Rewind Review: SINISTER
Here at GeekTyrant we love movies. Old, new, sci-fi, drama, we love them all. So why not remind you geeks of some awesome past films and maybe some not so great ones as well?
Today's Rewind Review looks at Sinister. For those of you who don't know, Sinister is about a true crime writer, played by Ethan Hawke, who moves into a new home with his family. There he finds a box of 8mm home movies in the attic, films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a murderer whose killings dates back to the 1960s.
Sinister isn’t a bad movie, but it isn’t a good movie either. It also really wasn’t that terrifying. The title fits. The things that happen on the screen, these unspeakable murders presented as found footage are troubling, but not scary. A mystery begins within the first five seconds of screen time, and the audience is drawn in, but in the end it was all for naught.
Ethan Hawke gives one of his best performances in recent memory, but it shouldn’t be on him to carry this overly long mystery with an unsatisfying payoff. As the movie continues we believe that this is not just another horror movie. The unique blend of cinema and found footage are crafted and edited pretty well into this creepy movie but the incredibly weak story drags the entire film down a couple pegs.
Too many times midway through the movie does this “unique” take become just another cliché. If there's one thing I have learned from horror films it's that demons really love children. However, what used to be freaky and unsettling has now become a tired, overused trope that audiences everywhere have seen plenty of times before.
The story also treats the audience as if they can’t assume or make out the solution themselves. Therefore, towards the end, we have a great deal of time spent explaining the twists, but the audience most likely saw them coming if they were actually watching the movie.
Ethan Hawke used to be a household name, and yes, he is a great actor, but an actor that needs to find better movies with better storylines.
One redeeming factor was the editing. It was temendous. If you want see editing done right, look no further. It outshines every other aspect except for, as stated above, Hawke’s performance.
Lastly, one aspect of the film which I found pretty neat was that most of the movie takes place within a one story house and its attic. Yes, characters come and go, but we the audience (and usually the character) that stayed behind feel somewhat trapped inside this sinister place.
Overall the movie was riddled with clichés and tired tropes that need to become a thing of the past, but the editing and acting somewhat make up for it.
We have seen plenty of kids with demons inside of them, how about an old man gets possessed for once?