In "Sinister," true crime writer Ellison Oswald (Hawke) intends to build on his reputation for "Kentucky Blood," a best-selling account of a notorious murder he wrote ten years ago. Now, desperate to replicate the success of his first book, he moves his family into a home where the previous occupants were brutally executed and a child disappeared, hoping to find inspiration in the crime scene. In the home, Ellison discovers a cache of terrifying home movies, unwittingly opening the door into a nightmarish mystery. (Gary Reber)
Special features include commentary with Director Scott Derrickson, commentary with Writers Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, the featurettes "Living In A House Of Death: (HD 11:32) and "True Crimes Authors" (HD 09:16), deleted scenes with optional commentary by Director Derrickson (HD 04:55), the theatrical trailer, upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.
The 1080p AVC picture is true to its sources. The Super 8 footage is grainy, with poor color fidelity. The digital imagery is nicely presented with a warm and rich color palette that consistently appears naturally hued. Fleshtones are naturally hued as well. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and decent shadow delineation, though, at times blacks are crushed and shadow detail is wanting. Resolution is excellent, with fine detail evident in close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. Overall, this is a chilling realistic presentation that is suspenseful throughout. (Gary Reber)
The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is hauntingly chilling, with an aggressive synthesized music score punctuated with deep bass accents energized in the .1 LFE channel to sub-25 Hz frequencies. Atmospherics and sound are appropriately nuanced at times and during the more intense sequences are aggressively directionalized. When fully engaged, all the channels effectively create a chilling immersive sonic experience with intense dynamic bursts. Dialogue sounds natural and igenerally effectively integrated spatially. This is a a haunting and spooky sonic experience that perfectly complements the swelling terror. (Gary Reber)