InSight

(2011) In/ Sight PSYCHOLOGICAL MYSTERY THRILLER

A young lady with multiple stab wounds gets submitted into the hospital. But before she died, an ER nurse by the name of Kaitlyn (Natalie Zea) telepathically start to inherit visions from the deceased, after a defibrillator was used between them to revive her. And a portion of the movie dwells on Kaitlyn attempting to convince others about her visions, while looking after her mother at the same time who has cancer, leading to a twist that doesn't make much sense. Co-produced and directed by Richard Gabai making yet, another movie that has already been done before, but with a much lower budget.

"She spoke to me, I think she was trying to tell me who stabbed her." When ER nurse Kaitlyn (Zea) is helping to try and save a young stabbing victim's life she begins to talk to her. Kaitlyn then begins to see the victim's memories and tries find the person who stabbed the young girl. This is a hard movie to review. The idea is actually pretty neat, the acting isn't terrible but the big problem is that it keeps repeating itself over and over. It seems like a 20 minute segment that they keep re-writing. That said I actually kinda liked it and it kept me interested the whole time. The only way to describe this is that it is a movie based off the TV show "Medium". If you liked that show then this is a movie for you. The best part hands down though is the twist ending and like some movies the ending actually makes you like the movie more then you would have. Worth watching for the ending. Overall, a very OK movie with a neat twist at the end. I give it a B.

InSight is not a film that is easily forgotten nor brushed over. It starts off with some pretty extreme circumstances, we learn through fast cuts and dialogue that a girl named Allison Parks has been brutally attacked and we don't know why. Neither does the main character in the film, Kaitlyn, who plays one of the nurses trying to save Allison's life, as she is suffering from multiple stab wounds. Kaitlyn thinks for a moment that Allison is trying to communicate with her in some way, but before Kaitlyn can find out much, a defibrillator shocks Allison and she dies. The electricity travels through Allison's body and knocks out Kaitlyn, who then begins to see memories from Allison's life or so we are lead to believe for much of the film.

The uniqueness of InSight is how in which the story is told. Methodically, as slowly we learn more and less at the same time. I imagine it's hard for an audience to piece together what is real and what is only in Kaitlyn's mind, and I imagine that's the whole point. We struggle as the main character does to try and figure out whether Allison's murder was a random killing or something more. Along the way we are introduced to a skeptical detective, Kaitlyn's sick mother, a sleazy psychiatrist, and Allison's ex-boyfriend, all of these characters add to the mystery. None of them confirm for the audience on which end of the spectrum the story will end. Whether or not this was just a random killing and Kaitlyn is just hallucinating these memories, or there's something more to this murder, and Kaitlyn is the only one who can figure it out.

Richard Gabai directs this thriller in a way that allows the audience to piece-by-piece figure things out with the characters. By the end it's really up for interpretation what the truth is. If you see this with a friend, you will be discussing it long after the credits roll.

I arrived at the theater not knowing a thing about InSight. It was a new movie and I recognized a couple of the names in the cast, but hadn't seen any advertising for it, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.

The film lays out its premise fairly early on. A nurse that is caring for a dying E.R. patient is accidentally electrocuted and hears her say something that no one else in the room does before she passes out. She finds herself having visions of things she's never experienced and she thinks that they're somehow tied to the patient she tried to save. As she goes about trying to make sense of it all, she runs across the detective investigating the case. Between the two of them, they attempt to discern what really happened to the girl who died in the E.R.

It sounds like one of your typical thriller tropes: good-looking detective and good-looking victim work to solve crime and in the process, they get it on.

What makes InSight different from the typical B (or C, or D) movies that follow that formula is that it is actually good. Not only is the production value very high, but Natalie Zea (who plays the nurse) and Sean Patrick Flanery (the lead detective) actually spark off some flames during their on screen time. Their chemistry works and their scenes together are top-notch. Also turning in noteworthy performances are Angeline Rose-Troy as Allison, the victim of the crime, Adam Baldwin as Dr. Graham Barrett, and Juliet Landau as Dr. Lisa Rosan.

The strong cast helps kick the movie into high gear shortly after the basic setup is explained, and halfway through the movie you know they've done their job when you find yourself leaning forward in your seat and furrowing your brow as you try to pick apart the mystery. The writers throw some very interesting curve-balls at you, keeping the action fresh and eventually leading to a satisfying ending.

InSight is incredibly underrated and deserves more attention. It is a well-acted intelligent film that is perfect for a date night with a special someone.

I rarely stop watching movies in the middle, but couldn't watch this for more than 20 minutes. It's absolutely awful.

Horrible acting. The main actress is not particularly likable. Most supporting actors are even worse.

Horrible dialog lines trying to shoehorn explanations of what's going on. Unfortunately can't judge the script, since I couldn't finish watching this.

Ridiculously bad production. Random s**t covering scenes as the camera moves. Color balance jumping from bright blue to bright yellow between the scenes. Sound quality in outdoor scenes is garbage.

Do not recommend.