‘Sinister’ starts strong but stumbles to the end

Horror movies generally require a suspension of disbelief but Sinister, the new movie starring Ethan Hawke as a true crime writer who stumbles upon a serial killer of sorts, rushed for an explanation and an ending that pushed the limits.

The movie has a surprisingly strong start as it slowly reveals key plot elements and nicely builds suspense. In the opening scene, we learn that author Ellison (Hawke) has moved to a small town in order to better research a book he’s writing about a family that died in a gruesome group hanging and their missing young daughter. Ellison neglects to tell his wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance) and two children Ashley (Clare Foley) and Trevor (Michael Hall D’Addario) that their new home is the actual house where the murder took place.

Strange things began happening rather quickly after Ellison finds a box of Super 8 home movies that document the murder of not one but several families. Perplexed by the graphic killings, he begins to try to unravel who was behind the violent acts and starts to make connections between all the crimes. A well-meaning local deputy (James Ransone) and an occult expert professor (Vincent D’Onofrio) assist him, but Ellison begins having nightmares that even they can’t explain.

So, with creepy kids, found footage, dark attics, things that go bump in the night, protagonists that leave the front door open when they go hunting for a potential serial killer with a baseball bat, the fear of a mysterious boogeyman and movies that, once seen, drive the viewer crazy . . . nothing new in terms of the genre. But, there is something compelling about the ego-driven journalist making his family the target of the mystery he is trying to unravel. And yet, as the film begins to incorporate more and more of the surreal, it simultaneously begins to unravel. Hawke goes over-the-top and out of his mind as ghosts appear and disappear. Centuries-old demonology is hurriedly explained via Skype. Even though the cinematography is fantastic throughout the entire movie, director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Day the Earth Stood Still) falters when it comes to pacing (the ending is rather protracted) and ultimately goes for too many cheap thrills.