Found footage helps a true-crime novelist realize how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his entire family in the path of a supernatural entity.
Derrickson’s follow-up, The Day the Earth Stood Still, which followed the pattern of the Spielberg-like “one for me, one for you” (a phrase derived from a filmmaker’s imposition to make a film based upon and primarily controlled by his or her own instincts, followed by a film controlled by a studio or distributor’s hankerings for profit), was a critical bomb. So, then, it was pondered, was Derrickson just a one-hit wonder, perhaps now just a film studio’s go-to boy for cash-and-dash remakes? Well, to say it bluntly, S.D.’s magic has returned ... sort of
To say Sinister is of the level of Emily Rose, or even better, would be a disservice to the complete horror of a film (I mean that in a good way) that Rose was. It had it all: fantastic performances from top-tier actors in Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson, a fascinating premise, and the dedication to the “less is more” horror aesthetic — an aesthetic, I don’t care how many people disparage, is best served in the realm of true horror. Nothing, not even what the best filmmakers and FX people can create, will be as scary as your own imagination and the suspense that precedes the revelation, or lack of which, that will follow.
Sinister, Derrickson’s return to straight horror, is a massage of tropes. He’s recently stated in interviews that his three favorite horror films are The Shining, The Exorcist and The Changeling — three classics of scary cinema. So, it’s easy to see the influence these films have on his latest vehicle.
Ellison is soon made aware of a force that may be an even bigger attention whore than he is when an image that keeps popping up in the videos. We see traces of it and then a full-on clear freeze frame that causes the Super 8 film to catch aflame. But what is it, this Grim Reaper-esque figure that keeps showing his weird face in the footage? Is it a person in a mask? A black metal band member? The Saw puppet Billy? Unfortunately, the answer is a little too convenient (spoilerish hint: it's in the realm of the supernatural, where anything goes) and Sinister joins a growing list of movies this year whose setups have more rewards than their miniscule payoffs.
Lots of good ideas abound in Sinister, as do cool references – the entire movie could be read as a more hardcore take on The Ring and the deputy character is campily stilted enough in a movie that otherwise isn't to suggest Blue Velvet homage. But the parts outweigh the sum. It's almost like Sinister knows its genre a little too well and underwhelms as a matter of course.
I really want to like horror movies, but I feel like I hate pretty much every horror movie I watch. The gratuitous violence and sex which are rampant in contemporary horror is kind of old. I guess I'm looking for something that is really psychologically and emotionally horrifying. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteA good recent one is "The Orphanage", a Spanish film produced by Guillermo delToro. No gore, all atmosphere and suspense.
ReplyDeleteThe Shining is classic. There are movies like Eyes Wide Shut, Mulholland Drive, and Lost Highway that are deeply creepy but maybe not considered conventional horror. However, they stick with you more than your typical run of the mill slasher you seem to be bored with (very understandable, by the way).
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed a flick called Antichrist, but I'm not sure if I can recommend it...
Antichrist is definitely psychologically and emotionally horrifying. Also...genitally... horrifying.
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