2012 · horror · thriller
Sinister
Directed by Scott Derrickson1h 50m2012
True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
Our read: Sinister (2012) reads as a heavy, steady, inventive horror · thriller entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.
Heavy, steady, extreme horror / thriller, inventive in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- extreme
- inventive
- bleak
- cold
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How Sinister feels to watch.
Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.
What watching it is actually like.
“You want found-footage dread, a writer's obsession, and horror that truly sticks.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if family-in-peril scares, snuff-adjacent tapes, or jump shocks will haunt you.
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