Scary movies just aren’t what they used to be and Sinister is no different. Sinister is a film about a true-crime writer by the name of Ellison Oswalt who hasn’t had a hit in ten years. His last book was a best-seller and granted him much acclaim. Since then he has started a family and taught writing classes. He longs to write just one more true-crime book that will put him back on top and set him and his family for the rest of their lives. His latest book is about the unsolved murder of a family who daughter has since gone missing. He soon finds films in the house that he has moved into that lead him into a dark mystery about the murdered family and possibly others as well. I have to say this wasn’t the worst horror film I have seen, but it clearly wasn’t the best. It uses the main cliché of horror films to try and startle and scare the audience that I thought were way too predictable for today’s viewers. The film also seemed to be unusually dark. The family never seemed to have the light on ever. Even during the daytime, the film was dark. I don’t know if it was how the characters liked it or the director’s choice, but it was a bad decision. A good horror film doesn’t have to be dark all the time. You can have a little sunlight or a lamp here and there. The acting was also subpar, similar to another Jason Blum produced film Insidious. With this said Ethan Hawke, the only big name actor in the film, wasn’t bad to watch. You felt for him even as he made those stupid horror movie mistakes. His acting is what carried this film along as the story wasn’t hard to figure out. The film’s villain was everything but that. His role was very small and simple. He should have played a bigger role than what the film showed. For sinister to have been a better film it could have used a better story, more lighting, scarier villain, and better actors. I give Sinister a Normal 6.5/10.