Derivative Images
Horror movies can disturb and scare us but in the end they usually bring light to the psychology of our own psyches. The 2012 movie Sinister is just such an example. It is ranked right up there with the Exorcist on the scariest movie of all time scale. So what is it’s message?
The film stars Ethan Hawke as Ellison Oswalt, a well-known true crime writer who relocates his family to a house where a ghastly family tragedy occurred. Ellison’s fixation on uncovering the truth and attaining fame ultimately leads him down a harrowing path from which there is no escape. His family is living in a house where murders occurred but in his fixation he fails to see the horrible effect it is having on his children and wife. He has been totally swallowed up in the glamour of evil and the ideal of fame.
Basically…Sinister is about a family named the Oswalts that moves into a new neighborhood so the father, Ellison, can write a true crime book about some grisly murders that happened there. Unbeknownst to them, their new house is haunted by a demon named Bughuul, and he immediately goes to work on his latest victims. Unlike most demons, this one doesn’t just make random spooky noises or try to possess people. No, his ultimate goal is to compel one of the children to kill their siblings and parents, and then he steals the kid away to a mystical plane where nobody can ever find them.
If that isn’t a great metaphor for the dangers of neglecting your family, then I don’t know what is. By moving into a new house, Ellison literally allowed a demon to invade his family and destroy it, and he did it just so he could write a book. His attachment to his work above all other concerns was the direct cause of the evil that befell his family, so the supernatural element works perfectly as a metaphor for the movie’s theme. No matter how nice Ellison may have seemed, the fact is that the Oswalts moved simply so he could write his book, and he doesn’t care if it’s bad for his children. He just wants to do what he wants to do, and his family is simply along for the ride.
Soon, after this, we begin to see more concretely just how bad the move has been for the kids. For example, Ellison wakes up one night and finds Ashley in the laundry room asking where the bathroom is. Similarly, there’s another scene where he wakes up and finds his son, Trevor, in a cardboard box, and as Trevor comes out of the box, he begins to scream in abject terror.
These are not normal behaviors. In particular, the incident with Trevor is depicted in an almost demonic way, so we know that something is very wrong here. Unsurprisingly, though, Ellison doesn’t see it. He doesn’t think these odd occurrences are anything more than sleepwalking and getting lost in a new house, so he just continues researching and writing like nothing ever happened. But we know better. No matter how oblivious Ellison may be, we know that his kids are beginning to come under the influence of something much more, well, sinister, and it’s all because he just has to write that damn book.
Ellison has multiple conversations with his wife Tracy that touch on the topic of familial neglect, and two of them pretty much smack us upside the head with it. First, there’s a scene where they talk right after Trevor has another “sleepwalking” incident, and Tracy confronts Ellison about everything that’s been going on. She points out that writing the new book is having a negative impact on him and their children, and she asks him to stop working on it. Naturally, he refuses. He says he’s onto something big, so he can’t stop.
With this scene, the theme of the film really comes into focus. This isn’t just a metaphor or a subtle hint. No, this time, one of the characters comes out and says that Ellison’s attachment to his work is hurting his family, so he should give it up. Can it get any clearer than that? Actually, yes it can. When Ellison refuses to stop working on his book, that just reinforces the theme even more. He makes it apparent that his work is more important to him than his wife and kids, and he’s completely unwilling to stop even though it’s clearly hurting them. In a sense he is possessed. Ellison straight up admits that his work is more important to him than his family. Granted, he doesn’t use those exact words, but that’s the obvious implication of the words he does use. By saying that his life is meaningful because of his writing, not because of his wife and kids, he’s essentially saying that his work is more important than they are. It occupies the place in his heart that should belong to them, and he gives it the love and devotion that he should be giving his wife and children. Simply put, he’s a neglectful father and husband, and as we find out soon after this scene, that neglect leads to the literal destruction of his family.
The core of Sinister’s terror lies primarily in the Super 8 snuff films featured within the story. These disturbing visual snippets create palpable dread with their raw, unsettling realism. The choice of this archaic format adds a layer of authenticity and discomfort, making the horror feel immediate and believable. Accompanying these visuals is a minimalist musical score that does not overwhelm but amplifies tension subtly, letting silence and faint cues play an important role. The film’s slow burn approach eases the viewer into creeping unease, rather than jolting them abruptly, allowing suspense to build organically. Finally, the entity Bughuul acts as a looming, constant threat throughout the narrative, enhancing the pervasive sense of danger and helplessness. These five aspects combine to make the menace feel both personal and unrelenting.
Resources: