Sinister
2012 · Canada, United States, United Kingdom · 105 min
- Director
- Scott Derrickson
- Screenplay
- Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
- Producer
- Jason Blum
- Music
- Christopher Young
- Cinematography
- Christopher Norr
- Editing
- Frédéric Thoraval
- Production company
- Summit Entertainment, Alliance Films, IM Global
Cast
What it is about
Ellison Oswalt, a true-crime writer whose career has stalled, moves with his wife and two children into a house where, unknown to them, a family was killed. Hoping to find material for his next book, he discovers a projector and a set of Super 8 reels labeled as home movies in the attic. What begins as research turns into an obsession, while strange and unexplained events multiply inside the house.
How it was made
The project grew out of a nightmare that writer C. Robert Cargill had after watching The Ring (2002), in which he found a film in his attic showing an entire family hanged. Scott Derrickson and Cargill wrote the script together and developed the villain, Bughuul, deciding against a demon and instead making it a pagan deity so it would sit outside any single religion; only the children call it Mr. Boogie. Principal photography began in autumn 2011 on Long Island, New York, on a budget of about 3 million dollars. The Super 8 sequences were shot on real Super 8 cameras with actual film stock, which helped them look like genuine old footage.
Reception and legacy
The film premiered at the SXSW festival in March 2012 and opened in the United Kingdom that October. Critics praised its performances, direction, cinematography and atmosphere, though many objected to its reliance on jump scares and other horror clichés. It grossed around 87.7 million dollars at the box office, a result that led to a sequel released in 2015. Over time it has earned a reputation as an unsettling cult favourite. A 2020 study by Broadband Choices ranked it the scariest film ever made, based on viewers' heart rates.
Stills
Trailer
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Trivia
A nightmare as the starting point
The premise came from a dream Cargill had after watching The Ring, in which he found a tape in an attic showing a hanged family.
Real cameras
The Super 8 segments were shot on actual Super 8 cameras and film stock rather than digital imitations.
Fear measured in heartbeats
A 2020 study based on viewers' heart rates placed it at the top of rankings of the scariest films.
More films by Scott Derrickson
Doctor Strange
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Black Phone
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Deliver Us from Evil
Black Phone 2Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.