Blu-ray

Grainy home-movie footage shows four people standing with hoods over their heads and nooses around their necks. As a branch on the tree they are standing below gives way, all four are hoisted up into the air, their bodies kicking out in vain.

It's a startling opening sequence, and one that sets the tone for this accomplished frightener from Scott Derrickson that plays with conventions by actually being about 'found footage' rather that consisting of it. The material in question is a box of Super 8 film found by true crime author Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) when he moves his family into a new home – the one where the opening murder occurred. What follows is a spooky thrill-ride with supremely effective chills and solid performances from all involved.

Picture: There's nothing scary about the quality of this Blu-ray's AVC 2.40:1 1080p encode. Sinister looks every bit the modern movie, with the crisply delineated digital photography exhibiting plenty of detail and natural colour saturation. Just as importantly, areas of darkness and shadow in the image are deliberately pushed so far that blacks become completely impenetrable – refusing to give up any horrors they contain until the very last second.
Picture rating: 4.5/5

Audio: Unexplained loud bangs? Eerie music? Creepy footsteps running behind you? Sinister's sound design is a lesson in how to generate fear through audio alone. Naturally, the 'jump' moments provide the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track with its best bits, but elsewhere there's still plenty to enjoy as the mix is employed to bring the ordinary day-to-day sounds of the house to life, before contrasting it with the spooky sounds that dominate as night falls.
Audio rating: 4.5/5

Extras: Sinister's bonus features are a bit of a mixed bag. Those hoping to learn anything about the making of the movie will have to turn to the disc's two audio commentaries – a solo track by director/co-writer Scott Derrickson, the other pairing Derrickson with his fellow scribe C. Robert Cargill.

The remaining extras are fairly tangential to the film. There's a 9-minute featurette talking to genuine true crime authors, a 12-minute featurette about haunted houses (with a particular focus on the still-unsolved 1912 Villisca Axe Murders) and a 6-minute promo video where the 'Director of the Thrill Laboratory' monitors audience members' heart-rates during a screening of Sinister. The disc also contains the theatrical trailer.
Extras rating: 2/5

We say: A solid supernatural thriller on a great disc – but it could do with more extras

Momentum Pictures, Region B BD, £23 Approx, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 3.5/5