SINISTER: WATCH WITH THE LIGHTS ON

Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I am a horror fan. Sometimes it's to the point that I attempt to not write about a new horror release for fear people will think that's all I watch. But on occasion a movie comes along that I feel compelled to write about because it is just that good. Such is the case with SINISTER, a movie I missed in theaters but one that will stick with me now that I've watched it.

Ethan Hawke stars as Ellison Oswalt, a true crime author whose last two books didn't do so well after the roaring success of his first book. In search of a new story Ellison is moving his family, wife Tracy and children Trevor and Ashley, into a new home in a new town. What he doesn't tell them is that the house they are moving into was owned by the victims of a gruesome murder and possible abduction.

It seems that the family living there previously was executed in their own backyard. Bound with their heads covered by bags, they were stood on a bench with nooses round their necks. The opposite ends of those nooses were tied to a branch that fell, lifting them and strangling them. All the family with the exception of their little girl.

As they move in Ellison takes a box of loose items to store in the attic and finds a scorpion there. He drops the box on it to smash it which loosens a floorboard under which he discovers a box of super 8mm films. Taking these to his office where he's already hard at work on the story of the family, he watches the first movie which begins with clips of the family and then shows their execution. Rather than call the local police who are no big fans of his (with the exception of one deputy) due to his treatment of other officers in one of his books, he begins watching the other films.

Each night as Ellison works on his book and watches another film, he learns more about the killer. At the same time strange things begin to happen in the house. Noises, walking about in the attic, all draw his attention away from the book to see what is happening. Several of these incidents end up being a child searching for the bathroom in a new house or his son having night terrors, something he has suffered from in the past. But other items happened for reasons best left unsaid.

Each roll of film reveals another family that seems fine until their death throws are captured on film. While watching the second film, Ellison catches a glimpse of something in the waves reflected on the pool a family is being drowned in. The image is that of a face but distorted. Subsequent films offer more glimpses of the possible killer as well as symbols at each one.

With the assistance of the deputy Ellison is put in touch with a university professor the police sometimes contact for dealings in the occult of cults. This professor provides Ellison with some of the clues he's been looking for as well as part of the connection between these families. But it isn't until the last moments of the movie when he gets the one item that ties it all together. Before he gets that information the question of Ellison's sanity is called into play and just whether or not he's dreaming things or they are actually happening is answered.

I've seen a lot of horror films, so many that I couldn't tell you the last time one of them actually scared me. This film did just that. When it was finished I found myself thinking that perhaps sleeping with the lights on that night might be a good thing. Yes there are a few predictable jump moments but there are some even I wasn't prepared for. At one point I checked my pulse and found that it was indeed racing just a bit.

Hawke has had good and bad movies both in his career. This time around he does it right offering just the tiniest hint of possible insanity but lots of proof that he is definitely frightened and a bit disgusted by what he sees on screen. His character is determined to have that success of a hit book one more time but begins to wonder if the cost of his family is worth it.

The best way to truly experience this film is sitting in the dark, the phone unplugged and every other distraction taken away. But if you tend to jump at the smallest thing, if you have nightmares induced by these sort of films and if you just don't like feeling your skin crawl you might want to watch it with the lights on. All of them. 

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