Review: Sinister (2012)

(aka Ethan Hawke vs. Buuthoole)
Release Date: In Theaters now.
Country: USA
Written by: Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill.
Directed by: Scott Derrickson.
Starring: Ethan Hawke, James Ransome, Juliet Rylance, Vincent D'Onofrio and the honorable Fred Dalton Thompson.

October just ain't what it used to be as far as Theatrical Horror  releases go. In recent years we've gotten a new PA or Saw movie as a rule; a few glossy, bigger budget Hollywood productions like The Thing or My Soul to Take; or a few indie flicks along the lines of The Human Centipede or V/H/S that have a tiny limited release, and go mostly unnoticed by most moviegoers. Most of what gets widely released is the bland, repetitive, cookie cutter dreck that is aimed at young girls who will scream at anything, given the chance.

This year, amidst the tired sequels and the even more tired sequels that involve Tyler Perry, we got Sinister. Let it be said here that Sinister was about the only one of this year's October horror crop that truly delivered.

Ethan Hawke is a controversial true-crime author who decides to move he and his family into a house where some grisly murders occurred, all so that he can exploit said grisly murders, and get his name back on the best sellers list. He of course tells his family nothing about the house or what happened there, which makes him kind of a dick.

Ethan Hawke, looking particularly investigative.

While investigating some late night noises in the attic, he finds an old box filled with a bunch of oddly titled Super 8 home videos;  Sleepy Time '98, BBQ '79, Pool Party '66, Lawn Work '86, and Family Hanging Out '11. Those all sound like fun, happy videos, don't they? Well they're not! They're all snuff  films of families being murdered, and each one has a theme.

Again, neither these tapes nor their themes are fun or happy at all.

Soon enough he learns that these murders are all connected to the case he's researching (trying to exploit), and that there may be an ancient demon named Buutthoole behind it all. As he re-watches all of these family snuff films, over and over again (because he's twisted), he starts to see Butthole's face in each of them.

Butthole is everywhere!

When he discovers the connection between all of the tapes, Buuthoole, and himself, Ethan Hawke does the first smart thing he's done all movie long; he decides to move he and his family the hell out of that house! Unfortunately for him, that's when the ghost kids start showing up, and he finds an envelope with a tape marked "Extended Endings." It all goes to hell from there.

I do not trust the children of Butthole. Not one bit.

From the opening moments where we were shown an old Super 8 home movie of a family being hung from a tree, Sinister got its hooks into us, and didn't let go until well after it was over. Sinister was very effective in both story and scare factor, giving us a solid narrative to chew on and a really creepy atmosphere, while going very light on the jump scares and music cues that usually tend to plague Hollywood horror releases.

It was nice for a change to actually see a scary movie in theaters during October that didn't have the words Paranormal  or Activity in its title. What was Hollywood thinking? They gave moviegoers a mature horror flick that was aimed more for the adult crowd than teenyboppers, and it was not only good, but made a hell of a profit for them? Maybe it's the start of a trend!

It's made around $45 million on a $3 million budget thus far, and that's just domestically. That's probably close to 35-40 million in profit (depending on advertising, distribution, etc...), when all is said and done. I've got to imagine that it will do fairly well overseas, and sell well when it hits the home video market, so damn, a good movie made on the cheap that has and will continue to turn a nice profit... Take note, Hollywood execs, it can be done! 

A movie about a guy watching movies so that he can write a book based on said movies, and it worked!

 

The main issue with Sinister is that the "twist" in the story is telegraphed pretty early on. This is not a movie that depends solely on its plot twist to survive or be effective, but it was still a bit disheartening to have so many clues as to what exactly was going on, so early. It also kind of ruined the fate of our main characters too, as it really could only end one way.It wasn't the worst thing ever, but we just wished it had been a bit less obvious.

She looks happy.

 

With all of the creepy things that Ethan Hawke's character sees, hears, and that happen in his house late at night, why did he never once turn an 'effing light on? I mean, you're living in a house where some horrendous murders occurred, the killer is still at large, and you're slowly discovering that some creepy demonic cult shit may be involved in your research into the murders, and you examine every odd and out of place noise/occurrence in your house, in the dark? Not buying it.

No light in the attic I can almost buy, but that means no way do I go up there without a gun.

Families being hanged, burned alive, drowned, chopped up, sliced open and having their faces shoved into spinning lawnmower blades... this one has plenty of bloody and disturbing imagery.

Disturbing like this.

Curiosity kills humans too (and not just cats.) Also, Ethan Hawke is not only still alive, but he's apparently still starring in movies. Good for him.

So intense.

How nice to see a Horror flick in theaters that actually manages to be both creepy and well made. Sinister delivered the goods with its minuscule $3 million budget what some movies can't at many times that price. (It's the writing, folks; it's always the writing.)

It's also nice to see that Ethan Hawke still has his acting chops, as he truly does carry this movie essentially all by himself. If it's still playing near you, go check it out. If not, don't miss it when it hits DVD and BD in the next few months.

A-

Sinister is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.

Since the Hottie factor of this movie was virtually non-existent, let us instead take a look at some animated GIF's of Sinister, which are still kinda hot in their own way.

All Day Horror-Thon- Update #2

 

The Shrine is a cheap little movie that should have sucked, but ended up being an example of how filmmakers can make a decent, scary horror flick on the (relative) cheap.

If you can get past the whole "girl does stupid shit that puts everyone's life in danger because she wants her career to take off" thing, which really annoyed us to no end, the rest of the movie is a smart, taut little supernatural thriller that ends in a place that I didn't expect it to.

There were some genuinely creepy scenes and moments in this one, and we're sad that it's still a largely unknown flick to most people. See it if you can, you won't regret it. We think. *Tastes can be subjective, you know.

The more we watch The Collector, the more we love the hell out of it. Filled with all kinds of great TV character actors and one of the most clever maniacs to come along in quite some time, this movie is an absolute instant classic around these parts.

So a guy (Arkin) breaks into a house, intent on robbing it, and finds himself interrupting a serial killer's torture and murdering of a family, which kinda kills his whole robbery scheme. Trapped in the middle of a trap-filled house, he has to fight for his life, and the lives of the family that he's trapped with, and so a battle of wits unfolds between he and The Collector...

Originally intended as the basis for a Saw prequel, it became its own movie, and are we ever glad that it did; it was nice to see a movie that involves nasty and elaborate traps away from the Jigsaw mythos, and given its own life. The traps in this movie are quite something to witness, and for the record, they are nothing like those seen int he average Saw movie. There's no moral lessons doled out here by some maniac on a mission, only death. And some collecting. Hence the title.

We can not wait to seethe sequel to this one, The Collection, which comes out in theaters this November. With the first one being so enjoyable, we can only imagine the 2nd one will be at least as good. Hopefully even better.

More to come.....

All Day Horror-Thon- Update #1

As promised, we got the creepy ball rolling at 12 A.M. Eastern Time.

Suspiria is an all-time favorite that we need to see at least once a year. The Argento classic was one of the last feature films to ever be processed in Technicolor, and rightly so; it's a visual spectacle that uses vivid colors as well as any other movie I can recall.

The first of Argento's "Three Mothers Trilogy," Suspiria tells the story of an American ballet student abroad who runs afoul of a Coven of Witches, lead by one of the Three Mothers (Mater Suspiriorum, in this case). It's stylish, beautiful to behold, creepy, gory as hell, and boasts one of the best Scores of all time (courtesy of legendary composers, Goblin.)

If you've never seen this gem, get a hold of a copy and see it asap. It's as close to required viewing as a horror movie can get.

*For the sake of continuity, the other two parts of the "Three Mothers Trilogy" are Inferno and The Mother of Tears, both of which are worth a look.

Say what you will about the much maligned flick, The Last Exorcism, but for our money, it's one of the better Exorcism flicks that's come along in forever.

Shot Cinema Verite style, The Last Exorcism is about a shady preacher named Cotton Marcus, who runs around pretending to do miracles and such, while really being nothing more than a complete fraud. Things get interesting when he takes on a new case of a possessed girl, and instead of his normal gig he gets the real deal, which he is woefully unprepared for.

We liked this one mainly because the guy who played Cotton Marcus was likeable and played one hell of a role. Then there's the movie itself, which slowly unraveled to reveal a pretty creepy and intense supernatural story. Lots of people didn't like the end, but we thought it was kinda cool; the "it came out of left field" twist leaves things open for a possible sequel, which we'd definitely see.

We love the feel of this movie, and had the urge to make it a part of this year's Halloween viewing.

Now, back to it...

The 31 Days of Horror- Halloween!

All day, all night, nothing but one flick after another. Starting at Midnight, we're watching some old and new classics, until we can't watch anymore!

Or until we have to go do something, like you know, pee. Or eat. Go to work. Stuff like that.

But aide from those kinds of things, we're doing nothing else but watching movies for the entire 24 hours that Halloween is here!!!!!!!!!!

*Also, sleep will have to factor in there somewhere, so, yeah.

First up, at the stroke of Midnight, is Suspiria...

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Nine- The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Why are we watching this new movie when there are so many awesome classics that we haven't even seen yet this season? Well, the answer is simple; this movie may be new, but it too is an awesome classic in its own right.

Cabin in the Woods is one of those movies that just makes you smile; it's clever and different, and just self-aware enough that it works perfectly. It's got scares, laughs, homages to spare, and it ends in a way that makes us wish more horror flicks and their creators would pay attention to what it is that makes a good movie work.

Some of these guys look pretty familiar, although this is the first time I'm noticing the Klan guys... how appropriately controversial!

It would truly be a shame to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, and so we won't. What we will say is that if you are looking for a fun horror flick that turns the "A group of friends head into the woods for a weekend of partying..." byline on its head, inside out, and then eviscerates it, this is a movie you will want to check out.

This will be one of the best, if the the best movie of the year once everyone's year end lists start popping up in late December. It definitely will be one of ours.

Now, we're off to re-watch the Blu-ray special features.

Own it now to see who wins!

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Eight- The Walking Dead

 
So after our weekend long Halloween shindig (preparations included in that time frame), we got to lay around on Sunday, nurse our wounds, and close it all out by catching episode three of this season's The Walking Dead.

The first two episodes gave us non-stop greatness, and the third one delivered the same, albeit in a completely different way,

This week, TWD left the prison behind to focus on Michonne and Andrea, and their run in with The Governor. We knew it was coming, but what we didn't know was how close it would follow the storyline from the TWD comics.

Morrissey was great as The Governor, and it's clear from the get go that he is a twisted guy, and is going to be one hell of a villain this season. We won't spoil what he did in the episode, but suffice it to say that he is a touchy bastard who has no problem killing indiscriminately.

The last bit with him in his secret room was creepy, although not what we expected. *In the comics, his secret room harbors different secrets. Maybe he has 2 secret rooms, and the other one will show up next week? Probably not, but we'd be cool with it if that happened.

As for Andrea and her mysterious partner Michonne? Well, they're pretty much trapped. Something tells me Michonne ain't havin' that shit for too long...

One of these Ho's be trippin', can you guess which one? (Hint: It's the Strawberry.)

 The other big thing this week was the return of Merle, which was unfortunately teased in the trailers and promos for this season, even it began. We really wished they had kept it completely under wraps and let it be a surprise, but it was still cool even though we knew it was coming.

Merle is looking skinny and ragged, and he has a bayonet-thingy for a hand now, which makes him feel like a skeezy version of Ash (Evil Dead) to us.What we're wondering is what he'll do when he finds out Daryl is alive. Hell, we're wondering what Daryl will do when he finds out Merle is alive. Will the be on opposite sides of the inevitable Rick vs. The Governor battle that is on its way, or will they pick a side together? And which side will that be? Aaaaah!

All I'm saying is that for me, if Daryl dies, TWD dies with it. I've had enough of this "favorite character dying" B.S. this year with Sons of Anarchy, and I do not want to deal with it again.

This week was a bit "quieter" than the past two weeks have been, but it was still one hell of an episode. If the rest of this season even partially follows the storyline from the comics, things are about to get pretty crazy.

Fan, meet shit.

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Seven- The annual THC Halloween Party!

That time of year is here again, where we THC'ers and friends will be drinking the night away to celebrate our favorite day of the year; Arbor Day! Halloween!

Sexy costumes, creepy costumes, and a drink made from part moonshine and part Everclear called apple pie... you know it's going to be a good night.

We will be back tomorrow, with hangovers in tow, for the new episode of The Walking Dead. Until then, we are off to make complete fools of ourselves.

Just imagine apple cider that makes you forget who you our for hours at a time, and that's Apple Pie!

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Four- AHS re-watch, part 2

Finally finished Season 1, and saw the first two episodes of season 2, and all we can say is... who is Bloody Face?!?

The asylum setting for season 2 is pretty neat, and it already feels way different than last season, although it also feels quite the same.What I'm really liking about the 2nd season of this anthology series, is that we get ourselves a creepy serial killer running around offing people in the past setting, and one that may just be a ghost doing the same in the present.

I can't wait to see the havoc that Bloody Face is going to cause, and I hope the body count is high.

Lovin' it.

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Three- AHS re-watch

 
Tonight (and most likely part of tomorrow) we're re-watching Season 1 of American Horror Story from the start.

When it premiered last year, we didn't really care for it so much at first; it was a well made and interesting show, it just didn't really pack much of a punch for us. Scares were what we were after, and it seemed light on those.

As the season wore on however, it got better and better, and by the time it ended, we were in love. Or at least we were in severe like.

In anticipation for Season 2, we need to get back in the AHS mood; Season 2 looks to be a drastically different story and quite a departure from season 1, but it's still all tied together, and so we need a refresher.

Kinky.

The 31 Days of Horror, Day Twenty-Two- Rob Zombie x 2!

We've been pretty harsh critics of Rob Zombie and his films around here. If you really look at his work, it definitely has a "shtick" about it, and for us, it has worked a few times, but largely failed.

His first two flicks, which we'll get to in a minute here, worked for us. His trailer for Werewolf Women of the S.S. in the middle of the Grindhouse flicks was a fun throwback. We even found ourselves really liking his remake of Halloween, despite its flaws and the fact that it was a remake of one of the most beloved and revered horror movies of all time.

Dr. Satan, and the guy who hosts The Talking Dead.

Halloween II though, was where we started to question his abilities as a filmmaker. It was a mess, and left us feeling angry and mistreated. Ditto for El Superbeasto... that movie was shit, although to be fair, we are not the core audience for that kind of animation flick.

As far as we're concerned, his first two movies are his best.

Ooh, ooh, oooooh, baby, baby.

House of 1000 Corpses is a messy film in a lot of ways, with all of its wacky cut scenes, spotty dialogue, and clunky delivery (in places), but damn if we don't just love it all the same.

It's definitely a throwback to the days of 70's grindhouse flicks, which Zombie obviously loves, and it delivers some pretty memorable characters, scenes, and some inspired ideas. Sid Haig and Bill Moseley are just fantastic in this movie, and their characters, for us, are instant classics.

I suppose that the gritty nastiness that 1000 corpses brings to the table was a welcomed thing back in 2003, because most of what we were seeing back then wasn't anywhere near its level of crazy. It felt fresh and different, and even today it still feels the same. In a retro sort of way.

We are family...

The Devil's Rejects continued the story of the Firefly clan, but it upped the ante and ended up being one hell of a film.

It's a road movie, for the most part; a tale of Otis, Baby and Captain Spaulding, on the run from Sheriff Wydell, and the havoc that they all cause along their journey. It's stark, brutal, and almost over the top in its violence. The writing and acting have improve vastly from 1000 Corpses, and it stands as one of the best genre offerings of the 2000's.

Viewed together, they make an oddly cohesive unit, and they look great on Blu-ray.*Quick note- Best Buy has both of these flicks on Blu-ray right now for $4.99 each! You're crazy if you don't go and scoop these up for that price... unless you already own them. Then you'd be crazy for buying them twice, just because they're super cheap.

Now let's just hope that The Lords of Salem can be half as good...