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Sinister

True crime writer Ellison Oswalt experienced success due to his debut book presenting new evidence that led to the perpetrator's capture. Following the failure of his subsequent works, he moves to Chatsford, Pennsylvania with his family. Unbeknownst to Ellison's wife Tracy and their children, 12-year-old Trevor and 7-year-old Ashley, the previous homeowners, the Stevenson family, were murdered by hanging. Hoping to revitalize his career, Ellison intends to research the Stevensons' murders and the subsequent disappearance of their youngest child, 10-year-old Stephanie.

In the attic, Ellison finds a box containing a scorpion, a projector, and film reels labeled as home movies. The footage displays families being murdered in various ways, seemingly by the camera operator. Ellison contemplates giving the videos to the police, but, excited at what they could contribute to his career, ultimately decides to keep and study them.

Ellison notices a mysterious cultic symbol and a strange figure in the films. He matches one reel to the 1998 murder of the Miller family in St. Louis and the disappearance of their 13-year-old son Christopher. While investigating noises in the attic one night, Ellison finds a king snake inside the film reels' canister lid and childlike doodles of the killings, featuring a figure called "Mr. Boogie." After he falls through the ceiling, emergency services are called, including a deputy who enthusiastically agrees to help Ellison, jokingly accepting the nickname "Deputy So-and-So." Ellison later encounters a Rottweiler in the garden, which flees.

Consulting the deputy, Ellison learns that the murders took place in different cities at different times, beginning in 1966, after which a child from each family disappeared. Before moving to Chatford, the Stevensons lived in the Millers' former house. Ellison consults occult specialist Professor Jonas about the symbol in the films, which Jonas links to pagan Babylonian god Bughuul, who is said to lure children into his realm and consume their souls. Jonas suspects the murders are part of a cult initiation rite rather than the work of a single murderer.

Ghost children invisible to Ellison begin to haunt the house. Trevor begins experiencing night terrors, and Ashley paints Stephanie on the walls, claiming that Stephanie has been talking to her; Tracy is furious that Ellison moved them into the site of a crime without her knowledge. One night, Ellison finds the missing children in the attic, watching one of the films. Bughuul appears onscreen before physically appearing before Ellison. Ellison destroys the camera, projector, and reels, and moves the family back to their old home.

Jonas sends Ellison images associated with Bughuul, including the mysterious symbol and a scorpion, snake, and dog. Early Christians believed that images of Bughuul created a gateway for him to enter the mortal world and possess children who see these images. Ellison finds the projector and reels, undamaged, in his attic, along with a new reel labeled "Extended Cut Endings".

The deputy informs Ellison that he has determined the pattern – after a family is murdered, the next family to move in becomes the next victims, but are only killed after fleeing; the hauntings provide incentive. Ellison realizes that by moving again, he has placed himself and his family in danger. The "Extended Cut" depicts the missing children entering the frame following each murder, revealing them as the perpetrators of the killings under the influence of Bughuul – "Mr. Boogie."

Feeling lightheaded, Ellison notices green residue in his coffee mug and finds a note from Ashley reading "good night, daddy" before losing consciousness. He awakens to find himself, Tracy, and Trevor bound and gagged. The possessed Ashley approaches with the camera and proclaims she will make Ellison "famous again" before dismembering them with an axe, then using their blood to paint pictures and Bughuul's symbol on the walls. She doodles their corpses on the lid of the film reel box as footage of her murders plays on the projector. Bughuul appears, claims Ashley, and walks into the film with her, presumably consuming her soul.

Ashley's reel joins the box of films in the Oswalt family's attic, titled "House Painting '12." In a final jump scare, Bughuul's face suddenly appears onscreen.