A new beginning is all most people crave, but fewer still are able to truly achieve it. For a New York family, that golden opportunity arrives in the form of a beautiful new home located in South Carolina. Relocating is the easy part, but the estate they’ve bought hides something buried from long ago… and it isn’t exactly welcoming.
Following the harrowing experiences of Darren (Willie Raysor), his wife Marie (Jana Allen), her mother Brenda (Cindy Hogan), and the couple’s daughters Sally (Ziony Shaw) and Renee (Meagan Lynn), The Sins Beneath is a creeping, ominous horror offering from director Aaron Christian Paderewski.
Opening with a bleak shot of the Williamsburg Bridge, we are ushered out of the bustling city life and into the isolated wilderness of the woods several hundred miles away. A fresh start for an unassuming family, but not all is as it seems. Unsurprisingly, things begin to go eerily wrong within and around the household, sparking tension between loved ones and those in their immediate area. An evening campout is rudely interrupted by a frightening local man named Pete (an entertaining Ryan King). Then there is the repairman who discovers nasty anomalies and disembodied figures that manifest – the family is in store for the quintessential haunted house treatment.
Paderewski mixes and matches his influences, borrowing from modern classics and slow-burn arthouse films alike to craft a feature that sits comfortably between psychological and all-out terror. Something that really stands out is the cinematography of Christian G. Hawkins. We’ve grown accustomed to criticizing how filmmakers operate in low-light conditions, but The Sins Beneath is incredibly deliberate with its use of darkness and blocking, with the color contrast really popping at the end of it. Details like that matter, and Paderewski has a uniquely strong grasp of his story’s visual appeal. It certainly doesn’t have that homemade quality many low-grade horror films resort to.
In terms of scares, it’s a decently curated gallery of chills that build with time. Apparitions and vaguely supernatural presences are the norm, and while there are some familiar setups here and there, the film gets itself going by leaning into its atmosphere and performances. Willie Raysor is a clear standout, serving as not only an indicator for the film’s gradual descent into madness but also as a vessel for the screenplay’s more racially sensitive commentary. Paderewski and co-writer Jason Usry take a smart approach to Raysor’s character Darren, adding some social subtext that elevates an already thematically strong narrative. The ensemble itself is also quite impressive, with the entire cast making good use of their time on screen as hostilities mount, especially the often overly dramatic grandmother played by Hogan. Some plot points don’t run their course as smoothly as one might hope—in spite of the film’s stellar grasp of visuals and tone. It does let pacing slip at times to its detriment.
Familiarity isn’t what you always want with horror, but for The Sins Beneath, it signals a measured and frequently rewarding outing that perfects a tried and tested formula.
