Sinister
2012 · 110 min · Horror / Thriller / Mystery · TMDB 6.9
The short version:A true-crime writer finds home movies of families being murdered. Heavy on dread and jump scares; the snuff footage involves children and is the hardest part.
Scare profile
Editorial baseline. Add your own report to refine it.
Synopsis
True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
What is in it
Intensity: brief means implied, off-screen or a single moment; heavy means graphic, prolonged or central. Items marked “inferred from keywords” come from TMDB tags and have not been confirmed by a person.
Violence & gore
- Graphic goreBriefeditorial
- TortureBriefinferred from keywords
Children & pregnancy
- Child harmed or killedHeavyeditorial
Details (may spoil)
- Families, including children, are shown being murdered on grainy film (drowned, burned, hanged). Mostly implied but very upsetting.
- Child in dangerHeavyeditorial
Mental health & grief
- Addiction & drugsBriefeditorial
- SuicideBriefeditorial
Details (may spoil)
- Hangings are staged to look like family annihilation.
Phobias & sensory
- Drowning & deep waterModerateeditorial
- Fire & burningModerateeditorial
- Shaky cam & found footageModerateinferred from keywords
Religion & the occult
- Demons & possessionModerateeditorial
- Cults & religious extremismBriefinferred from keywords