Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Sinistre Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 19, 2022

1996’s “Sinistre” (R.I.P. spell check) ultimately arrives at a horror destination, dealing with spooky incidents and menace from beyond, but it commences as a sort of “Reservoir Dogs” riff highlighting bad guys dealing with big mistakes. Director Ronnie Sortor more interested in criminal activity at first, which gives “Sinistre” a bit more severity as a shot-on-video endeavor. However, it doesn’t take long before genre demands take over the picture.

Bleeding criminals navigating a haunted house is the general thrust of “Sinistre,” and Sortor takes horror seriously. He’s out to spook viewers, conjuring reasonably professional suspense with enigmatic incidents, and when it’s time to get wet, there’s plenty of blood for the gore hounds, who are treated to all sorts of bodily harm as the film follows the developing nightmare.

Sinistre Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.34:1 aspect ratio) presentation presents the "Director's Final Cut" of "Sinistre," which was cleaned up in 2016. Obviously, with SOV entertainment, image quality only goes so far, with detail not a production goal. Acting and special effects are appreciable throughout, and color is acceptable for this type of muddy viewing experience. Source is in decent condition, without major points of damage.

Sinistre Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix also reaches the limits of video technology, offering an inherently inconsistent listening event for "Sinistre." Dialogue exchanges struggle with clarity at times, and scoring cues are a bit more defined, adding some synth menace to the feature.

Sinistre Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/director Ronnie Sortor.

• Alternate Score #1 features work from Clark Carter.

• Alternate Score #2features work from Larry Simmons.

• "Sinyster" (71:32) is an alternate cut of "Sinistre," created in 1997 to help get around legal entanglements involving a distributor.

• Commentary #1 for "Sinyster" features director Ronnie Sortor.

• Commentary #2 for "Sinyster" features director Ronnie Sortor, and actors Daniel Skinner and Todd Reynolds.

• Commentary #3 for "Sinyster" features special effect coordinator Mike Strain.

• "Beyond the Screen" (28:20, SD) offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Sinistre."

• "Composing 'Sinyster'" (11:59, SD) is a 1997 interview with Clark Carter.

• "'Sinyster' vs. 'Sinistre'" (3:29, SD) is video comparing the two cuts of the feature, with the latter version of the film cleaned up for a new audience. Director Ronnie Sorter went back and removed some mistakes from the movie, including cars clearly parked near a house that's meant to be abandoned.

• "Vintage T.V. News Segments" (2:00, SD) highlight media coverage of the 1994 video shoot, with local news teams interviewing members of the cast and crew of "Sinistre."

• Outtake Reel (10:54, SD) explore various takes from the 1994 shoot, watching director Ronnie Sorter handle grotesque special effects and amateur actors.

• "'Sinistre' at Studio 2060" (18:02, HD) pays a visit to 2016, where Ronnie Sorter and Mike Strain assemble new special effects for the final cut of the feature. This is strictly a BTS overview of the creative effort, offering viewers a chance to watch the team attempt to update some of the gore content and still match newly generated footage to the old, busting out ancient videos cameras for the job.

• Photo Gallery (3:14) collects BTS snaps.

• "Remains" (10:36, SD) is a short film from Ronnie Sortor, who gets to play in the zombie outbreak sandbox with this 2005 endeavor, which is also his last directorial credit.

• Commentary on "Remains" features director Ronnie Sorter.

• Behind-the-Scenes (20:40, SD) highlights the making of "Remains," including some tips for making homemade blood from Ronnie Sorter.

• And Trailers for "Sinyster" (1:55, SD) and "Sinistre: Director's Final Cut" (1:29, SD) are included.

Sinistre Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Sinistre" wins points for finding mood, fighting the limitations of SOV cinema to do something with a certain intimidation factor to it. It's not a striking picture by any means, but as these productions go, it does offer some noticeable creative effort.