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SINISTER (2012)Movie Reviews
Horror thriller about a true crime novelist who discovers a box of mysterious home movies that plunge his family into a nightmarish experience of supernatural terror. Cast:Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, James Ransone, Fred Dalton Thompson, Clare Foley, Juliet Rylance, Michael Hall D'Addario, Victoria Leigh, Nicholas KingDirector:Scott DerricksonRelease Date:October 12, 2012DVD Release:February 19, 2013From:LionsgateRating:RLength:1 hr. 49 min.
Sinister (2012) played to moderate reviews. • Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times, "...an undeniably scary movie, with performances adding enough human interest to give depth to the basic building blocks of horror." • And Jesse Hassenger wrote for Pop Matters, "It's a passing shiver rather than a full-on haunting." More Reviews Below...
Mary Pols, Time: MODERATE "...full of feints, shocks and scenes of particularly perverse violence, but nothing about it is fresh enough to haunt you in the night. It's predictable."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,176 words, 10/11/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the rare horror movie that's just ingenious enough about stitching together everything it borrows to make its second-hand quality kind of fun."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 450 words, 10/12/12
Scott Bowles, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...surprisingly by-the-book... does little with the found footage besides grind it into a bland hybrid of 'The Ring' and 'Paranormal Activity'..."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 10/12/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an undeniably scary movie, with performances adding enough human interest to give depth to the basic building blocks of horror."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 10/12/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "...can't deliver the hair-raising goods.... may make you jump at predictable intervals, but it never rattles your existential certainties the way truly subversive horror does."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 10/11/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "Once you accept the logic-defying moments, the movie works with diabolical effectiveness.... some of the bloodiest instances are left to the viewer's imagination."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 10/11/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Hawke builds a persuasive portrait of desperation with little help from the script... Mr. Derrickson, keeping the lights dimmed, effectively puts his pieces into play..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 10/12/12
Miriam Bale, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...a grab bag of every popular horror trope of the last 30 years.... Ridiculous, and never scary, and with the worst ghost makeup in the history of the horror genre..."(See all of Miriam Bale's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 10/12/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...offers an interesting twist on the recent wave of 'found footage' movies... the film makes clear that we are our own boogeymen, the worst monsters of all."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 10/12/12
Sara Stewart, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "The wailing, old-timey music that filters through the film, especially over flickering Super 8 images, is deeply unsettling... The jolts feel unearned, however..."(See all of Sara Stewart's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 10/12/12
Roger Moore, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...goes about as far as a horror movie can with just shocking images, a good cast and outstanding sound design... Nobody seems that scared."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 498 words, 10/12/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Despite some effective bumps and frights, and at least one memorable jolt from a full-throated D'Addario, this is mainly just a series of snuff-reels with sick-joke titles..."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 10/12/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an undeniably scary movie, with performances adding enough human interest to give depth to the basic building blocks of horror."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 10/12/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...a proficient, rattling horror story... Hawke's taut performance is totally credible... Vincent D'Onofrio and James Ransone contribute excellent supporting bits..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 10/10/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "More stupid than scary... a low-budget horror film trying for old-school shocks.... Ethan Hawke isn't to blame for the film's many failings."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 10/12/12
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...a mixed bag of old-school and contemporary horror tricks that occasionally raises a hair prickle of intrigue.... feels more self-parodying than scary."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 10/12/12
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...by staying within the claustrophobic confines of the house for most of the picture, the film misses opportunities to deliver real frights, not just head-scratches."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 10/11/12
KEY CITIES (9 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...the hero is almost unaccountably dumb. So, unfortunately, is the movie... the ultimate in fast-food frights: momentarily satisfying but unmemorable."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 627 words, 10/12/12
Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...familiar but slick and effective... borrows shrewdly, expanding on the found-footage gimmick in a way that manages to invoke both 'Manhunter' and 'The Ring.' "(See all of Gary Thompson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 350 words, 10/12/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...now this is a scary movie.... What the film may lack in surprises, it more than makes up for in creepy atmosphere and honest-to-goodness scares."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 537 words, 10/12/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...aspires to be some kind of self-conscious amalgam of 'In Cold Blood' and 'The Shining.' It doesn't happen even though Hawke is ready, willing, and able..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 528 words, 10/12/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "What does horror sound like? We know what it looks like... go see it and when you do, give it a listen. And you'll hear what scary sounds like."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 528 words, 10/12/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...frightening. It is the farthest thing from a cheap horror movie... It gets its effects by making you feel like it's three in the morning..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 10/12/12
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "This will not end well. Anyone with half a brain can see that. What's inexplicable in this overlong terror fest is why Hawke's dim daddy does not. Stupid!"(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 346 words, 10/12/12
Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Scott Derrickson keeps the R-rated proceedings decidedly creepy and on edge.... it comes together with a gruesome though excellent ending..."(See all of Kevin C. Johnson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 293 words, 10/12/12
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: FAIR(cg) "...displays no ambition to generate terror other than the usual sonic stings and abrupt intrusions into the camera frame... Everything here is something we've seen before."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 421 words, 10/12/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...a proficient, rattling horror story... Hawke's taut performance is totally credible... Vincent D'Onofrio and James Ransone contribute excellent supporting bits..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 10/10/12
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "Derrickson's film is plagued by the issue that has been haunting the horror genre for years now: it's way too damn generic... start coming up with something new."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 10/11/12
Alexandra Cavallo, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a horror movie that is plainly frightening in a way that so few today are. Much of its stomach-twisting anxiety comes from its soundtrack..."(See all of Alexandra Cavallo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 156 words, 10/18/12
Scott Tobias, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "...moves with a full-throttle intensity -- and residual creepiness -- that's occasionally shameless and overwrought, but hits like a battering ram."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 10/11/12
Jesse Hassenger, Pop Matters: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has unsettling imagery, a few cheaply effective jump scares, and committed performances... It's a passing shiver rather than a full-on haunting."(See all of Jesse Hassenger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 710 words, 10/12/12
Nick McCarthy, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...unable to take advantage of its adept use of found footage in relation to the anemic moral dilemma Derrickson tries to derive depth from... boilerplate horror..."(See all of Nick McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 538 words, 10/10/12
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...by staying within the claustrophobic confines of the house for most of the picture, the film misses opportunities to deliver real frights, not just head-scratches."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 10/11/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: MODERATE(cg) "...for a good enough while, 'Sinister' is a fascinating character study of creative meltdown.... it teases us with more profound prospects for delving into obsession..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 10/08/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Hawke builds a persuasive portrait of desperation with little help from the script... Mr. Derrickson, keeping the lights dimmed, effectively puts his pieces into play..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 10/12/12
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: POOR "...a joyless ride, and its frights are too contrived to be surprising... None of this is fair to Ethan Hawke.... somewhere is a much less foolish film with Hawke at its heart."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 10/08/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...offers an interesting twist on the recent wave of 'found footage' movies... the film makes clear that we are our own boogeymen, the worst monsters of all."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 10/12/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "The scares are not just intense but unyielding in this compelling horror yarn.... Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill favor the classical chiller approach."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 03/11/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...offers an interesting twist on the recent wave of 'found footage' movies... the film makes clear that we are our own boogeymen, the worst monsters of all."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 10/12/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "Only sporadically punctuated by scary or thrilling moments, 'Sinister' is a weak, disappointing movie even as a routine genre item."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 655 words, 10/12/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Hawke builds a persuasive portrait of desperation with little help from the script... Mr. Derrickson, keeping the lights dimmed, effectively puts his pieces into play..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 208 words, 10/12/12
18.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Sinister (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 18.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Sinister (2012) (37 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Sinister (2012)'s reviews cover 56.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,269 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 494 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 52.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Sinister (2012)'s reviews on average broke 52.5 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Sinister (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Sinister (2012) (37 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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