If the film does ultimately have the faint air of authenticity, it’s thanks primarily to DP Chris Norr’s worn-in location shooting.

Between them, director Scott Derrickson (who co-wrote with C. Robert Cargill) and cinematographer Chris Norr have crafted a taut and rather nasty little thriller through clever use of negative space and genre preconceptions. The darkness becomes a character in its own right, lurking behind Ellison, peering over his shoulder and enveloping the Oswalt house with absolute menace. A deft hand controls the interplay between that oppressive darkness and our ability to follow the action within it and impressively the control never wavers.

Cinematographer Chris Norr’s dark, de-saturated color pallete adds a polished sheen of terror to the narrative.

Hawke pieces together the grisly visual evidence, while astute direction and effectively nuanced cinematography draw out telling unease from mundane interior spaces.

Thanks to a dependably driven performance from Hawke, Chris Norr’s gorgeously glassy cinematography and several shiversome reveals, Sinister manages to be both an opportunistic Insidious clone and a much more consistent watch.

The horror doesn’t stem from Ellison confronting a threatening dog, but seeing the reflection of the horrific Super 8 films in his glasses, one of the many fantastic shots Derrickson and cinematographer Chris Norr capture.

Impressively shot with dark shadows and moody lighting by Chris Norr, Sinister may not be the kind of movie to spawn another Saw or Paranormal Activity franchise, but that hardly matters to passionate horror fans.

Blending darkly atmospheric widescreen lensing by Chris Norr transforms the Oswald's new house into a claustrophobic, crazy-making space.

"I would sooner fail at trying to do something different than succeed by copying everyone else."

"My advice to filmmakers considering 2-perf is, ‘Use it!’” says Norr. It gives you 35mm depth of field, better lens and camera choices, and less grain."

"Chris Norr’s cinematography is vividly expressionistic, Thornton gives a passionate and urgent performance, and Ruffalo’s direction is audacious."

"Tech and design elements are solid, with Chris Norr's widescreen lensing handsome."