224 - Sinister

    A family moves into the house where most of a family was murdered, and the father investigates the crime for his true-crime novel.  Evil stuff starts to happen when he finds footage of the murders - and others.
    I showed this to Cathy, as it was one of the more interesting horror movies from the last several years.  It’s been awhile since I saw it, and this viewing did make things more interesting.
    The sound and music is really unusual.  While the found footage is playing, some very unsettling music plays.  It’s a little like a heartbeat, but less organic.  There are synth elements.  It’s strange that I didn’t remember this from the first time I watched the movie.  I kept wondering if the found footage sequences would have been more or less effective without the score.
    The story fits together better than I remembered.  There are a lot of red herrings during the first half, but I’m impressed with how deftly the script inserts the important pieces of information.
    I do have one main complaint, and it really seems like something the director would have addressed.  There are two points in the movie where they use a jump scare that involves the supernatural being’s head jumping in from the side of the frame along with a big stab on the score.  These moments are cheap, and they break the fourth wall, for some reason.  They actually hurt my respect for how well the movie is done otherwise.  It’s like some producer said “we need a big scare to go out on!  Do this!”
    Regardless, the movie was effective at scaring Cathy.