Christopher Young's Sinister released...
1-Nov-2012 -
Sinister sounds as scary as it looks...
One of the latest movies out at the moment is the new Ethan Hawke film – Sinister. It’s not a particularly new plot, in fact you may find the story basis a little familiar and possibly even predictable, but the soundtrack definitely does the trick in heightening our sense of terror during the movie.
Credited to Christopher Young, the score isn’t quite as scary as all the chopped up bits of sounds that you hear during the action as the main character tries to figure out the mystery behind the box of Super 8 video reels he’s found in the attic.
The story itself is about a crime writer, Ellison, who’s suffering from a case of writer’s block so takes the very unwise decision to buy a house where the last occupants were slaughtered – with the whole family left hanging from a tree in the back yard, save for one little girl who disappeared.
He doesn’t tell his wife and kids about the house history, but they soon find out, as watching the tapes he found in the attic releases an evil spirit that possesses his children. The footage on the Super 8 reels reveals a series of grizzly murders. As Ellison plays the films, he unwittingly releases the evil spirit which takes possession of any children who see the images. Soon after watching the tapes, Ellison’s son begins to have night terrors and his wife – played by Julie Rylance - starts begging to leave the house.
Of course they don’t , and the horror ramps up as Ellison gets drawn ever further in and his family is put in all kinds of danger. We’re not spared any of the visual horror, as we see the ritualistic killings that Ellison sees on the tapes, and the whole film has a very voyeuristic element to it.
To add to the tension and drama, the soundtrack of snippets of songs and droning music really gives Sinister a scary edge. Dane A Davis transforms normal noises such as the film projector or a lawn mower by amplifying or slowing down the sounds into something deeply creepy and fear-inducing.
It’s the constant build-up of this fear-raising soundtrack that really makes you want to burrow into your neighbouring cinema goer’s shoulder for comfort. If you’re looking for a real dose of fright on Halloween, then Sinister is the film to deliver it.
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