Sinister

Sinister is one of my favorite horror films because of its weirdness and its ability to give me the heebie-jeebies. The tapes used in this film to propel the plot are incredibly creepy and ominous. Each time I watch the film, I find myself shuddering at one particular tape: the family bound up, locked in their car, and set on fire. It is not necessarily the murder itself that creeps me out, but rather the music they chose to play in this scene. The voice of the man singing, paired with the static and white noise in the background sounds like the music someone would hear if trapped in hell or possessed by a demon. It is just such an unnatural sound; it feels as if it comes from another world. The abrupt transition from an upbeat melody to one as haunting and cringe-inducing as this instantly makes you feel very strange and uncomfortable during the entire scene.

There is something incredibly threatening about watching these families go from completely happy, care-free, and normal to being tied up, tortured, and murdered in a matter of seconds. Usually in a horror movie, the destruction of a happy family into death and chaos occurs at a slightly slower pace, rather than being shoved in your face off the get-go with no warning. Opting to speed up the process makes the film even more terrifying and strange because it deviates a bit from the norm. It is a bold statement to start off a movie with an entire family being hung to death from a tree. Having to watch them squirm and struggle until their last breath leaves their body and they simply hang there, motionless, is just exceptionally disturbing.

Even more chilling is when the hidden images of the demon Bughuul or Mr. Boogie first appear. The lack of knowledge about who or what the mysterious figure is puts you on edge throughout the film. The mouthless, dark face of Bughuul is quite menacing and his backstory, an eater of children’s souls, is very ominous. Children are seen as pure and innocent, so you wouldn’t think such a tiny human could bring so much pain and destruction upon others – especially their entire family. Even though children are common targets for evil, the approach this movie takes just seems so surreal. This surreal quality makes the movie standout from other horror movies concerning child murderers and contributes to the overall weird vibe the video tapes create.