Found Footage | 31 Nights of Horror Challenge

For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Day 26 prompt was Found Footage. I have never been a fan of fan footage and this is coming from a guy that saw The Blair Witch Project in the theater! I think the sub-genre is overplayed and well, just too fake. So for this prompt, I went with a movie ABOUT found footage that does a decent job at scaring you: Sinister (2011).

#31nightsofhorrorchallenge Found Footage: Sinister (2011).

Storyline

Crime writer Ellison Oswalt moves his family into a house where a horrific crime took place earlier, but his family doesn’t know. He begins researching the crime in hopes of writing a book about it. Oswalt examines video footage that he finds in the house to help him in his research, but he soon discovers more than he bargained for.

Our Thoughts on Sinister

It is refreshing to see a horror movie with a well-written story, quality actors, and a genuinely creepy atmosphere in a market saturated with predictable jumpscares and unscary gorefests. The chilling tone is set in the opening scene and slowly builds throughout the film. Ethan Hawke is great as the true crime author obsessed with the case of a murdered family, and the rest of the cast does a solid job with their roles. 

6 out of 10

Trivia

The family hanged on a tree was all played by stuntmen; however, when the scene was first done, the stunt coordinator botched the preparations for the scene resulting in the actors being legitimately hanged and choked. Fortunately, they survived, and the coordinator was fired soon after.

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