I always find it strange to watch Ethan Hawke in a mainstream role that’s not from the 90s. Therefore, it throws my whole world out of wack to see him in a Jason Blum film.
In Sinister, Hawke plays Ellison Oswalt (how’s that for a made up pen name), a true crime author and failed novelist who also writes college textbooks to help pay the bills. He moves into the previous scene of a child disappearance with his wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance), daughter Ashley (Clare Foley), and son Trevor (Michael Hall D’Addario) so he can write his next bestseller. His hope is to make enough off this next book that he won’t have to write boring textbooks any longer. I’ve never thought about it before, but how much of that hundred of dollars that universities charge for textbooks do the writers actually see? I’m assuming not much. This would explain why the instructor for an economics of piracy class I took sold us the textbook directly for a cheaper price. That way he saw all of the profit. Economics of piracy - heh. Smart man.
Anyway, local authorizes try to convince Ellison to leave (except one officer who brought a book to be signed and gets scolded for it). The sheriff (played by Fred Thompson, a character actor typecast as law enforcement and politicians because he actually served as a senator for a time - seriously! I just learned that!) states that he does not appreciate the way police are portrayed by Ellison or the media circus that follows the books he publishes.
Tracy gives Ellison some good writing advice. She says how she misses his fiction writing, even if it didn’t sell, and that he’s chasing after another bestseller instead of writing what he wants to write. And she’s totally right! He actually spend several minutes of the movie re-watching his TV appearances from bestseller’s publicity tour. He wants the “fame and money”. Oh damn, Tracy, you called it. He dragged you to a lot of writing workshops, didn’t he? Of course, there is the whole trying to make a living thing.
Let the spooky research begin! Ellison is investigating the murder of the house’s previous family, all hung from a tree in the back yard, and disappearance of one child. He finds a box of snuff films in the attic which feature not only the death of the family he’s investigating, but several other families throughout the decades. Personally, my first thought would have been, “Oh crap! Serial killer left his trophy box in my house! Better call the cops and get the heck outta Dodge!” But no. For being a true crime writer, Ellison decides NOT to call police apparently not making the same connection I did. I mean, he does finally tell the deputy (James Ransone - adult Eddie from It: Chapter Two) after strange drawings appear in the attic and he falls through a floorboard, but by then his children are already being subtly haunted.
Also, how did he, a writer with only one bestseller, get the money for such nice video enhancement equipment. I can’t bring myself to spend money on Adobe! But in classic horror film fashion, the more creepy shit he sees on his fancy video program from the old home movies, the more research he does. You know, instead of GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE! As true crime writer, has he ever actually read any true crime?
But Ellison wants the movie deal and the fame. He insists that this could be his In Cold Blood. Does he not know that 1) Truman Capote wrote a fictionalize version of the true events to sell as book and 2) that book was a first of it’s kind. You can’t be Truman Capote, Ethan Hawke. You don’t even have the lisp.
Eventually, he notices a figure in the films along with a symbol. He get helps from a post - “Law and Order”, but pre - “Daredevil” Vincent D’Onofrio as an occult professor. He tells Ellison that the symbol is associated with a demon called Bughuul who uses children to do dark deeds. This demon is completely made up for the film and has no roots in any mythology. If you want to do legit research after being utterly disturbed watch Hereditary.
I’m not going to spoil the ending (although this movie came out in 2012, so I’m sure someone has spoiled it for you by now). I am going to say this - If creepy shit is happening it’s time to let the writing project go! Maybe take a break, move to a new house, and write a happy story for your kids to enjoy. But that’s just me.
