‎Sinister (2012) directed by Scott Derrickson • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Sinister

2012 Directed by Scott Derrickson

Once you see him, nothing can save you.

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.

Ethan Hawke Juliet Rylance Vincent D'Onofrio James Ransone Fred Dalton Thompson Clare Foley Michael Hall D'Addario Victoria Leigh Blake Mizrahi Cameron Ocasio Danielle Kotch Ethan Haberfield Nicholas King Tavis Smiley Rachel Konstantin

110 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by DirkH ★★½ 10

Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.81

If only......

If only they had managed to continue the messed up creepiness of the opening shot.

If only they hadn't decided to trade in the first act's subtle scares for the LET'S ACCOMPANY EVERYTHING WITH LOUD SOUNDS scares.

If only Ethan Hawke had gotten better material to work with (as is, he makes this thing slightly watchable).

If only it had actually been sinister.

If only the creepy kids had actually been creepy instead of looking like they had a mild rash.

If only they had left the 'How to stuff your film with Tropes' at home.

If only....
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★★ 24

I went into Sinister months later than I had anticipated, I had wanted to watch this on the big screen when I was visiting my family and friends in the U.S. at Halloween ('12) but it did not happen. I am almost thankful I watched this at home, in the dark with only one other person. I am not sure it would have had the same effect on me had I watched it in a theater full of loud Americans. I am also thankful I did not watch this alone. That's right, Sinister scared me. This is an extremely rare and welcomed occurrence.

Going into a film with so many mixed reviews is always exciting for me, there is an…
Review by CinemaClown ★★★½ 7

From the director of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister marks director Scott Derrickson's second stint with the genre of horror & is an impressive improvement over his debut chiller. It might not have reached the dizzying heights of the genre masterpieces when it comes to storytelling aspects but it nonetheless accomplishes its goal of scaring the audience in a pretty impressive manner.

Opening with an 8mm footage of a family being killed by an unseen figure, Sinister concerns a true-crime writer who along with his family moves into the very house where a disturbing crime once took place in order to help his research. The plot is set in motion when he discovers a cache of snuff films in the…
Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 3

can't say for sure why i enjoy revisiting this one so much but it's been on my spooktober watchlist every year since it came out--between derrickson's lens, hawke's performance and young's score something about this just clicks for me. there's an interesting thread in here about the inherent complicity of snuff films (that lawnmower tape is the one that gets me every single time) but derrickson ultimately succeeds by grounding his stylish scares in the failures of fathers... maybe not the best modern horror film but probably the most underrated.
Review by Adam Cook ★★★ 29

Modern mainstream horror features an over reliance on cheap jump scares and found footage to elicit the scares, it is a formula that Sinister also employs but with far greater success. I think it is only fair to state that this is not a great horror film but it is more successful than most of its contemporaries delivering an eerie and insidious atmosphere that helps paper over some of the film’s significant plotting issues and derivative setup.

Sinister revolves around a crime writer who is researching his next book about the gruesome murder of a family and their missing daughter. Moving into the crime scene with his family he discovers a trail of similarly grisly murders via a box full…
Review by bethany ★★★★ 4

the home videos will send chills down my spine forever. and that SCORE!!! i find more things i love about this film every time i revisit it.

also i love ethan hawke so much i could watch him watch paint dry and i would give that shit 5 stars!!!!!

Recent reviews

Review by johnwlits ½

While there are some effectively creepy moments, this movie is garbage. The ending is a horrible, cheap letdown, and there are too many loose ends for me to acknowledge the writing as anything other than bad. Relies on cheap jump scares in predictable moments for the most part and concludes in the least satisfying way possible.
Review by bri

this movie scarred me for life
Review by CinemaStan ★½

Mr. Boogie is up there with The Bye Bye Man when it comes to terrible things to call your supernatural killer. Great name for a disco dancer though.

Movie itself has a neat premise, generally good atmosphere and Ethan Hawke is solid as the lead.

Unfortunately, most of the actual scares are predictable, loud and lazy - sometimes even unintentionally hilarious.

It honestly seems like they went out of their way to find the least creepy children out there. That and the bargain basement design of the Boogster makes the ending fall completely flat.
Review by Alex

Bre and I were very brave with the help of Shawn.
Review by poopbucket ★★★★

I love Sinister. From the opening shocker, thru the peeking voyeuristic grossouts to the couple rando jumpscares, plus the building mystery and withholds. MVP caliber Ethan Hawke sells it all.
Review by olivia b. ★★★

can't articulate why but i would trust ethan hawke with my life
Review by chrisstuckmannn ★★★½

B+
Review by Matt Wingler ★★★★

When it comes to horror, I love movies that can show restraint. This one does that beautifully while maintaining all the elements and themes you'd expect from traditional horror. It's not an easy task to accomplish, and trading in explicit violence and obvious scares for something psychological and understated seems to take a lot more effort.
Review by faithh ★★★

Very frustrating cause I mostly thought it was silly but I was also scared