SINISTER (2012)
With special guests Hannah Cabell & Ryan King
Intro, Math Club, Debate Society, Hot for Teacher (spoiler-free): 00:00-28:47
Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy): 28:48-1:00:57
Superlatives (spoiler-heavier): 1:00:58-1:23:12
Director Scott Derrickson
Screenplay C. Robert Cargill & Scott Derrickson
Featuring Michael Hall D’Addario, Vincent D’Onofrio, Clare Foley, Ethan Hawke, James Ransone, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson
Released October 12, 2012
Budget $3 million
Box Office $48 million US & Canada/$82.5 million worldwide
SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS
It’s been a while since true crime writer Ellison Oswalt had a bestseller, and the strain is starting to show on Ellison, his wife Tracy, and their kids Trevor and Ashley. Local law enforcement isn’t keen on him, either, as his last few books didn’t cast them in too fond a light. So Ellison and his family take up residence in a modest Pennsylvania ranch house with something of a history – something we learn when we watch as a family is lynched in the house’s back yard. Unfortunately, this may be his last chance at the big time, so Ellison neglects to inform Tracy of this, and when things start going bump in the night, and the home movies left behind reveal ominous clues about a killer’s identity, Ellison finds himself turning from the hunter to the hunted. A helpful deputy steps in to assist, as well as a professor of the occult, but by the time they reveal their own information, the situation has devolved from strange… to sinister.
SPOILER-FREE GUEST BIOS
Hannah Cabell is a New York-based actor, director, and writer. She wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Lost Nation, which won Best NH Short at the 2023 New Hampshire Film Festival. As well as the feature version of Lost Nation, she has written The Hills and the Sky, about an archivist’s obsession with Betty and Barney Hill’s 1961 alien abduction, and the comedy television pilot Brother Husbandry. Hannah’s acting credits include “The Black List,” “The Good Fight,” “Madam Secretary,” “Mr. Robot,” and “The Leftovers,” and she currently plays Judge Renee Gittens on “Law & Order.” She also appears in the upcoming pilot Driven, written and directed by David Shane. Film work includes The Surrogate, Luce, and Thine Ears Shall Bleed (upcoming). She has been nominated for Lortel and Drama Desk awards for her stage performances. MFA, NYU. Favorite recess snack: Peanuts, raisins, and carrots.
Ryan King is a screenwriter, playwright, and actor who grew up in Central Texas and now lives in New York with his wife and daughter. He wrote the screenplay for Asphalt City, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan, after being selected for the 2018 Black List of Hollywood’s favorite unproduced screenplays. It opened in March 2024. His original thriller screenplay, The Tutor, starring Garrett Hedlund and Noah Schnapp, was also recently released and peaked at #3 on Netflix’s Top Ten. He’s currently developing several projects for tv and film, some horror and some not. As a playwright, he’s been a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup, the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Working Farm @ SPACE on Ryder Farm, and the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group. His plays have been developed by Cape Cod Theatre Project (twice), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Naked Angels, Rattlestick Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Colt Coeur, Primary Stages, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ars Nova, Theater of NOTE, Tofte Lake Emerging Artists Program, and Ground Up Productions, and his short play Antares Returning was produced as part of Fit Club’s 2017 Spring Fling festival and nominated for Best Short Play by the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. As an actor, he has appeared regionally and Off-Broadway at theaters including the Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage, Clubbed Thumb, PS 122, HERE Arts Center, Barrington Stage, Hartford Stage, Studio Theater, and the Huntington Theater. Education: Yale School of Drama and the University of Texas at Austin. Favorite recess snack: Combos.
EPISODE NOTE
Music from Sinister by Christopher Young.
To hear our discussion of another Scott Derrickson film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, click here.
Why did Professor Louryk choose this film? Find out in our Blog.
TRAILER
SUPERLATIVES
The Gaspar Noe Award for Most Disturbing Scene
Hannah: Trevor Oswalt appears out of the box, screaming
Ryan: Body appears under the moving lawnmower
Eric: Body appears under the moving lawnmower
Bradford: The opening image in which a family of four is hanged from a tree
The Ellen Ripley Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Live
Hannah: Deputy So-and-So
Ryan: The father in the Martinez family (BBQ ‘79)
Eric: Travor Oswalt
Bradford: Ellison Oswalt
The Michael Myers Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Die
Hannah: [Abstaining]
Ryan: The little girl who engineers the hanging of her family
Eric: Ellison Oswalt
Bradford: [Abstaining]
The Ken Russell Award for Most Baroque Screen Moment
Hannah: The Oswalts’ original home
Ryan: Ashley’s delivery of her final line before decapitating Ellison
Eric: The shushing: from abducted kids in the attic to the kids in the deleted scenes
Bradford: Body appears under the moving lawnmower
The Brad Dourif Award for Character Who Could (or Should) Have Been Played by Brad Dourif
Hannah: The sheriff
Ryan: Ghost kid in PJs sprinting (in slo-mo) into doorway
Eric: Deputy So-and-So
Bradford: Mr, Boogie
FINAL LETTER GRADE
Hannah: C-
Ryan: C+
Eric: B
Bradford: B