9. Sinister
Another film that could have been a perfectly ordinary, boring genre film is breathed new life by some nifty tricks both stylistic and thematic. Sinister has a washed-up crime writer (Ethan Hawke) moving into a house with his family in order to work on his new opus, without telling his family that this very house is where the murders he is writing about took place. Though a lot of the constituent elements are familiar horror fare - a haunted house premise where weird things start happening in their home - screenwriter C. Robert Cargill suffuses it all with a knowing sense of humour, specifically as it relates to the hilariously incredulous deputy character, played so well by James Ransone. What's best about the film is that it glides on genre convention and then seeks to defy, both as a found footage film (Hawke's character spends much of the film watching mysterious Super 8 reels of past murders) and as a haunted house excursion. It all comes together for one of the most genuinely chilling endings in recent horror history, whereby the character makes the smart choice only for it to essentially be his undoing. With strong performances, a smart narrative and keen sense of atmosphere, this is a great - if flawed - little horror.