Early Buzz About Sinister Out of SXSW

Shock Till You Drop

Ryan Turek
March, 11, 2012

Last night, Scott (Exorcism of Emily Rose) Derrickson'sSinister crept up on a SXSW audience for a secret screening well ahead of its October 5th release date.  You'll recall, the film was due out this summer before it grabbed a perhaps more apropos pre-Halloween debut.

Starring Ethan Hawke, and produced by Jason Blum (Insidious), the film concerns a true crime novelist struggling to find his next big story who discovers a box of home videos showing other families being brutally murdered, but his investigation soon leads him to a supernatural entity that may be placing his own family in harm's way.

After the jump, we've gathered up some of the early buzz that hit Twitter after the screening.

Scott Weinberg (FEARnet): "Sinister went over really well. An actually clever deviation on haunted house movies. Will make some noise in October." Peter Hall (Movies.com): "Sinister is white knuckle terror." Erik Childress (eFilmCritic.com): "Scott Derrickson's Sinister didn't anger me. So I guess that's a step up from his previous two films." Brian Kelley (BTSJunkie.com): "Sinister starts w/ an unforgettably haunting image & ramps up the tension to near unbearable levels. It's original & terrifying." Eric D. Snider (Critic): "Sinister ... retards my sleep forever." Allistair Pinsof (Critic): "Sinister is like art house 70s horror (Argento, Roeg) brought to life with the energy and jump scares of Insidious. Incredible performances." Jeremy Kirk (Film School Rejects): "Unnerving, hard, unconventional horror works best at midnight." Not too shabby.  Now, you have to wait until October to see it...