Sinister

If you're planning to see a horror film in theaters this Halloween, the film you should see is 'Sinister'. Ethan Hawke stars as Ellison Oswalt, a famous author who gets his inspiration from staying in the vicinity of houses in which brutal and sadistic murders took place. Unbeknownst to his wife and two kids, Oswalt decides to move into a house that is basically a crime scene. In the attic, Oswalt finds a box of home movies that reveal a lot more than he bargained for. 'Sinister' plays out a lot like 2010's 'Insidious', which is not a coincidence considering both films have the same producer. 'Insidious' was all about the build-up. 'Sinister' is the same. The downside of both films is their third act which takes away the true scare factor that was established in the first hour of the film. 'Sinister' stays based in reality for most of the film and then takes a wrong turn towards its climax. That's not to say the film is a disaster. Why else would I recommend it as the perfect Halloween 2012 film? For the first hour, the film is a scare-fest. It's unsettling and flat-out chilling. Ethan Hawke gives a great performance as Ellison Oswalt and the supporting characters are great as well. I jumped multiple times. I will say that some of the jump scares were cheap, but they still got me! Overall, this is one to watch in the theater. Watching it at home won't have the same effect. While the film's climax is a bit of a spoiler, the rest of the film is disturbing and sends chills down your spine. The moral of the story is that curiosity definitely kills the cat!