Sinister

“Sinister” is a cut above the contrived terror movies of the past couple Halloween seasons.

Best of all, it’s actually scary.

Yes, phantom footsteps run across the attic and strange visages appear from offscreen, but the spooky atmosphere, for the most part, earns the shocks.

Much of the movie is spent watching old Super-8 film projected in a dark, claustrophobic office. Found footage is a tired concept popularized by “The Blair Witch Project” and now attaining cash-cow status with the “Paranormal Activity” series.

By integrating the concept into conventional narrative, and only when befits the storytelling, the otherwise cheap device feels mostly grounded.

The Super-8 films themselves are creepy pieces of work, featuring the mass murder of families in their own homes. It’s an unsettlingly detached first-person depiction of violence.

Unfortunately, the characters are less compelling.

Author Ellison Oswalt (Hawke) grows possessed by his latest true crime book about the hanging of a Pennsylvania family in their backyard. After moving into that same family’s obviously haunted house, he and his insultingly out-of-the-loop wife, Tracy (Rylance), run into troubles.

Their relationship drama is played out in big fights and clichés. There’s little subtlety to the writing, but Hawke makes the most out of the material, even if Ellison remains an unsympathetic hero.

With the assistance of occult specialist Professor Jonas (an uncredited Vincent D’Onofrio) and the well-intentioned Deputy So-and-So (Ransone), he begins to unravel the mystery behind the mass killings.

The writer’s ego and skepticism might account for his refusal to turn on any lights ever, but it’s not enough to keep the audience from smacking its collective forehead.

After the second or third time Ellison journeys up to the attic in the dark or wanders around in the dark carrying a bat, you have to wonder if the town is in a perpetual blackout.

“Sinister” is best when it strays from bumps in the night. One ghostly sequence follows Ellison through his dark house without relying on shock tactics. The snuff films are truly haunting, and the occult overtones add some zest to the frights.

Otherwise, the sound design becomes increasingly out-of-control as the story crawls closer toward its supernatural finale, and the jump scares come fast and hard.

The ending is inevitable, but the escalating sense of dread throughout makes it an intriguing sequence.

“Sinister” recalls the classics for its slow-burn pace, long shots and spooky sound design. It’s just missing some heart and common sense.

By Patrick Beane