Sinister (2012) + Bonus [w/Commentaries]

True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.



Commentaries:
1) Audio Commentary with Director Scott Derrickson. Derrickson states up front that he prefers directors' commentaries which focus solely on directorial issues, and that's what he covers here, discussing things like the cinematography and even the choice of locations. I personally loved his comments about the Alexsa HD camera he used, as he mentions the fact that he tends to dislike HD digital shooting since it looks too much like video and not enough like film. Hallelujah.
2) Audio Commentary with Writers Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. This is another interesting commentary focusing more on the writing, though Derrickson tends to also deal more with some of the directorial aspects (like business he gave various performers).

Bonus included: Living in a House of Death (11:32) is an interesting featurette detailing houses that have had horrific crimes occur in them. It's kind of fun to hear how realtors market these properties. A lot of this piece focuses on a horrific ax murder in Iowa in 1912.

Sinister 2 (2015)