Movies
[BD Review] ‘Sinister’ Is Super Scary But Doesn’t Always Add Up
Summit Entertainment’s Sinister had a “secret” screening last night at The SXSW Film Festival in Austin. I had to put “secret” in quotes because a certain trade magazine decided to spoil the surprise just because they could. Directed by The Exorcism of Emily Rose‘s Scott Derrickson, the film stars Ethan Hawke, James Ranson, and Juliet Rylance and there’s been quite a bit of anticipation for it, especially considering that it doesn’t open until October 5th. Sadly, the film didn’t live up to expectations. Mr. Disgusting writes in with his review.
“While the chiller will cloud your mind with extreme visuals and a brooding score/sound design, you shouldn’t be tricked into thinking this is a good movie… Sinister is a plot-laden mess that requires an incredibly high amount of suspension of disbelief. The best way to describe it is ‘8MM’ meets ‘Paranormal Activity’. In an odd turn of events, this film is still highly recommended for those seeking one good scare and an unnerved stomach, it’s highly effective.”
Penned by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, “the story follows a journalist who moves his family into a house where another family was murdered. After moving in, he uncovers found footage that leads to clues about the murders.”
Click here for the review.
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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