jacob_b

I can understand that. The one that got you got me too. I think with Bagoul, movie does well, I'm hoping he gets more of a backstory in the sequel, which I think they can easily do, especially maybe having the cop get the lead role.

lopper

All but a couple scares were pretty much spoiled by the trailers and tv spots, which is too bad because it really pulled me out of the movie when I could say 'oh, this happens here'. Really kills the suspense.

I did almost piss myself when I thought that part was very creepy.

Still, lots of holes could be poked into the plot and I could (and did after we left the theater) nitpick this thing to death, but it's best to just enjoy it for what it is.

7/10

dsa_shea

I thought the movie was good but not great. I did feel that it was sufficiently scary and a had a few very creepy moments. However, I'm not sure that I see much replay value in this one because once you have run the gamut there isn't much to go back and get from a repeated viewing. I would be down for a sequel if they decide to go the route of telling more of the backstory on Baguul and how he weasled his way in and started this string of murders. The story seems like it has a bunch of plotholes in it but really the only one would be is how does the film and projector become reality once again after it has been destroyed.

Why So Blu?

The other scenes that kind made everyone at my screening bust up with laughter was the one where Granted, it ties up the end, but it's also a big WTF moment.

xage

Is Buhguul a DVDtalk member? He loves Videos and have OCD on children.

The "Extended Cut" Scene and The Lawnmower were awesome!

maxfisher

Yeah, that was ridiculously stupid. There have to be dozens of ways they could've accomplished that plot point without the idiotic label. The other thing that nearly killed it for me was Outside of those two complaints, it was a solid enough movie, but not particularly scary. A couple of the old films were fairly unsettling the first time they were shown, but there just wasn't much in the way of scares.

jacob_b

Yeah, the first pop out looked WAY too CG or split screen and was hard to take seriously. That was one of the only things that bugged me in an otherwise really well done movie.

Perkinsun Dzees

This movie is an absolute piece of shit. Which is sad, because it had a potentially creepy premise that totally went to waste. Three fourths of the running time is taken up by Ethan Hawke watching home movies, surfing the internet and walking around a dark house. Oh yeah, and he has a kid with a convenient mental disorder who likes to pop out of a box screaming or hide in the bushes at night. Oooooh, scary! The finale is so mind bogglingly stupid I actually shouted "Argo F yourself!" at the screen. This makes the Paranormal Activity movies look like Citizen Kane.

DonnachaOne

If you're the kind of person who yells at the screen, maybe you shouldn't be watching a movie with grown-ups.

onebyone

It wasn't perfect, and it is one of the few movies i wish was around 15 minutes longer because it just begged for more backstory.

That said, I enjoyed it a lot. It was a lot bleaker than I was expecting, and was very well directed with many scary/unsettling scenes. Plus, having a good actor as the lead makes up for a lot of ills. I totally believed this was happening to Ethan's character, so I was willing to let a lot of little script issues go.

gp1086

Just got back. My thoughts:

- This movie was creepy - plain and simple. I went in looking to be frightened and it definitely delivered at multiple parts. This is most important.

- Ethan Hawke's performance was superb. Unfortunately, between the great job he did and the screenplay, I really felt the other characters were overshadowed and never felt much of a connection with any of them. Perhaps this was the director's intent, but it took a little away from the film for me.

- One scare seemed pretty little cheesy / forced to me

- In between some of the scares, I found myself a little bit bored at times. Still though, I think the editing and time was fine - this was more of a screenplay issue and could have probably been solved with 1-2 more interesting characters.

Despite these few criticisms, I give Sinister a solid 8 out of 10 given how much it creeped me out. I think it's unfair criticism to call out a horror movie on "stereotypical" jump scares. That's like calling out a comedy on profanity or an action movie on explosions - it's expected and doesn't make or break the movie itself.

benf802961

That was the scariest part of the movie.

sharkstank

The best jump scare in the whole thing, wish I would have jumped though.

I agree with WhySoBlue and maxfisher. I thought the movie was well done, but it kept feeling like it was...stalling I guess. It would gain some moment, then it would just stop. It was missing that sense of dread that I feel many great horror movies have.

As far as Insidious comparisons, the flaws maxfisher pointed out hurt this movie more than the end seemed to sour people on Insidious (which I thought was great). Sinister was worth watching, but I felt more could have been ultimately done with it (such as more Baguul). And definitely see it with great sound if you can, it is important here.

The Black

Some flaws



I could go on, with all that said I did enjoy the film, but there were alot of things I would have liked to change about the story.

Mondo Kane

Got back from a matinee. Since Insidious seems to be the measuring stick, I'll also put that one above Sinister, but not by a hefty margin. I'm also GLAD that I never checked out any of the trailers because, as you guys pointed out, one too many moments have been spoiled.
As others have said, great creepy soundtrack/score provided for this movie. That broken-record sound that plays during the "Sacramento film" caused some uneasiness on me.
It was also good to see Ethan Hawke again. I think this might be the first time I've seen him on the big screen since Training Day.

Yeah, I thought I heard chuckles from the (Small) crowd on that moment too.

Charlie Goose

A lot better than I thought it would be. I thought the ending fit well, and there were plenty of chills and BOO scares too.

A woman a few rows in front of me nearly jumped out of her skin several times, and even started crying right after


I loved the use of Super 8 film for


Of course there was the standard haunted house lapses of judgment. If I moved into a house where a whole family was murdered, and I thought the killer came back to put a box of films in the attic, then I'm the fuck out of there.

And, as others have stated, the

Enjoyable scare flick, as good as Insidious. It did need more Mr. Boogie though.

TomOpus

Sorry for the bump but saw this today since I had time to kill and it was only $5 at my AMC.

Didn't jump at the jump scenes but I did like the lawnmower film. The kids running around the house seemed like of pointless.

And the wife must be a heavy sleeper cuz none of the loud noises in the attic woke her up.

It was an okay movie.

GatorDeb

Saw this Sunday. Great movie. Two questions.

riotinmyskull

saw this yesterday and enjoyed it. i'd say it's on par with INSIDIOUS. doesn't break any new ground in the genre but it's also not trying to. the "home movies" were very REALISTIC and creepy as hell (they actually reminded me of Ti West's portion of V/H/S). the lawnmower scene was the best scare of the film. absolutely unsettling score by christopher young and great sound design. not a perfect film by any means but solid enough that i'm open to sequels.

asianxcore

Enjoyed Ethan Hawke's performance as well as Juliet Rylance's. Those super sketchy Super 8 films were awesome!

As a couple others have mentioned here, I enjoyed the first half of the film a lot more than the second. The build up was so awesome in the first half.

Daytripper

Couldn't agree more! And I was so psyched to see this. I blind purchased it on BD and watched it last night for the first time. Aside from maybe three really good jump out of your seat moments, it was so bland and boring. Definitely not scary. Like someone mentioned above, the scenes with the dead kids running around were meant to be scary too. But they were laughable. And the ending was ridiculous. If I had seen this in the theater, I would have thrown my drink at the screen.

JumpCutz

As previously mentioned Ethan Hawke was really good and the sound design and score were top notch for the budget, but this was a rather silly affair. Also, why do people equate cheap jump scares with quality horror? Any fucking idiot can edit a shot so the audience "jumps". I suppose that's the current state of horror films.

Heat

Just saw on DVD - not great, not bad. If you like horror films this is worth a rental.

SPOILER

I'd like to see a 9 or 10 year old who knows how to edit and splice 8mm film (one of the last scenes). And the name "Mr. Boogie" reminded me of:

Maxflier

Saw this last night and this was my biggest problem with the movie. I mean at one point the dad falls through the fucking roof and the wife, daughter, son don't even notice? Come one...

And I realize I likely won't get an answer to this because I am posting a few years after, but:



When did a small girl have to lift anyone into a tree herself?

Mike86

I bought this on Blu-ray last year around Black Friday. I thought it was just okay to be honest. I like both Hawke and D'Onofrio but the film didn't entirely work for me and definitely had its share of eye roll moments. Some of the footage from the home movies Hawlke's character found were creep and effective but overall the payoff to the film wasn't great. Its worth a rental but that's about all. I thought with the comparisons to Insidious that I'd like it more I guess.