Sinister - 7 stars out of 10

Sinister - 7 stars out of 10

"Sinister" is everything that its title implies and more.  It is pure graphic terror without comic relief or even a break from the heightened sense of fright.  The film actually has a very artistic flare to it, reminiscent of Hitchcock in its use of clever camera angles and its method of showing just enough to let your imagination fill in the gaps, but not so much that the violence loses its poignancy.  I particularly loved the artistry of the scene with the family whose throats are sliced, cutting away from the home movie as the knife approaches and showing the murder in the reflection of the protagonist's glasses.  Taking inspiration from "The Ring" through its creepy home movie with quick cuts and horrific imagery, "Sinister" uses the same scare tactic over and over, and yet it is incredibly effective.  The script focuses on the strange things that happen at night as Ethan Hawke analyzes the home movies, but these intense sequences are only broken up by a few minutes of daylight before jumping into the next.  My heart never stopped pounding through my chest and it felt as if there would be no end to the tension.  There isn't really a twist at the end.  You can feel the mystery being slowly revealed throughout the film but it doesn't matter. - the ending explanation (which was easily predicted) is so visually disturbing that figuring it out on your own doesn't matter.  This film is a thriller just as must as it is a horror film, but no matter how you categorize it, it will make you think twice the next time that you see a lawnmower or a tire swing.  As I have written this review, the opening image of the 4 bodies being hung from the tree has slowly worked its way into my imagination and I am now freaked out and looking over my shoulder - that's how awesome "Sinister" is.