If you frequent my reviews, you might have picked up on the fact that I tend to like how James Wan does horror. Saw was a great jumping off point, Insidious was tons of fun, and The Conjuring* was and still is one of my favorites from 2013. So how does Insidious: Chapter 2 measure up? Pretty well, actually.
Note: If you don’t want Insidious to be spoiled for you, turn around and promptly walk away. Plot details for Insidious: Chapter 2 are direct consequences to the events of the first film. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Insidious: Chapter 2 starts off immediately where its predecessor left us. Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) has just rescued his son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), from the realm between life and death, referred to as “The Further”, with the help of a psychic named Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye). Things are not all hunky-dory in the Lambert household, however, as it appears as though Josh’s body has been hijacked by a malevolent spirit, a fact that Elise quickly discovers and pays the price of doing so with her life.
As a police investigation into Elise’s death begins, the decision is made for Josh, his wife, Renai (Rose Byrne), Dalton, his younger son, and his infant daughter to move into his childhood home with his mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey). As the movie proceeds, Lorraine and Renai attempt to unravel the mystery of Josh’s new and disturbing mannerisms, employing the help of Carl the psychic (Steve Coulter) and Elise’s apprentices, Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson respectively).
I’ll be honest; when the movie started, I was very scared about how Insidious: Chapter 2 was going to turn out, and not because of any tension building. The opening scenes give the first impression of a not very good movie, and you kind of expect everything to be downhill from the get-go. The film comes into its own, however, as it brings legitimate scares to the table. The rest of the film serves up a nice blend of tension, jump-scares, mystery, humor, and even a bit of lore-building. It’s not very often that you get to say that a horror movie has some interesting lore/world-building, let alone that it expertly builds off the lore of its predecessor.
That being said, Insidious: Chapter 2 does has some issues, the most glaring of which is the writing. Dialogue feels forced and self-aware, and some deliveries are so incredibly cringe-worthy that it’s hard to imagine how bad the other takes must have been for them to go with the ones that made it into the finished project. The delivery of the first Insidious was very straight-faced, but the delivery here flip-flops between The Exorcist and Schlockopalooza XIV. Much of this occurs in the beginning of the film, contributing to my earlier referenced apprehension. Eventually, the actors seem to find their rhythm, but the damage has been done by then, and the overall tone is just way off. Top that off with a bit of an underwhelming finale, and it can be easy to see why someone would advise you to skip this one.
Still, when Insidious: Chapter 2 works, boy does it work. “The Further” is still an incredibly eerie place that feels like something straight out of your childhood nightmares, and the jump scares had me timidly walking around corners well past when the end credits had finished rolling. Joseph Bishara returns from the first film to deliver an equally haunting and disturbing score that meshes extremely well with the chilling set design too. If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that Wan is very effective at setting the mood for a scare, something that’s kind of essential in a horror film.
There ‘s no denying that Insidious: Chapter 2 needed a bit more polish before hitting the big screen. Really, any minor flaws are negligible when it comes right down to it, but the one big thing holding Chapter 2 back from reaching greatness is the insanely hit-or-miss acting, which is a shame because it’s really quite good when it hits. Even so, it’s a fun ride, and Wan is doing some pretty cool stuff with the horror genre here. It’s not as good as the first, and it’s definitely miles behind The Conjuring, but it’s infinitely better than any of the usual gems you get near Halloween. If you liked Insidious, chances are high that you’re going to like its sequel. And then you have Insidious: Chapter 3 to look forward to, which was confirmed to be in production days after the release of Chapter 2. Let’s just hope this series carries on a little better than Wan’s Saw franchise did.
-FullMetalZ
*If you would like to read my in-depth review of The Conjuring, you can follow this link to see me gush about it: https://fullmetalz.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/review-the-conjuring/ . The Conjuring is my senpai, and I hope it notices me.
FullMetalZ Reviews 