Insidious

Haunted houses and questionable children have composed many a horror film, but there's a reason they work. When they do so despite years of being recycled, it's usually thanks to talent. "Saw" director James Wan found something of promise in "Saw" writer Leigh Whannell's story "Insidious" and the same must've gone for stars Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. Horror films rarely get that infusion of talent, and as such, "Insidious" does not get lost in that dark dimension of forgettable horror.

Josh (Wilson) and Renai (Byrne) Lambert have moved into a new home with their two young boys and infant girl. Like always, paranormal oddities occur in small doses here and there until one morning they find their son Dalton in a coma. A few months pass and they move Dalton back home. The freaky incidences increase and eventually Renai sees the ghosts. She convinces Josh to move them into a new home, but it gets worse, so they bring in a paranormal expert (Lin Shaye) who provides them with some shocking revelations about the state of their son.

Like "Paranormal Activity" (a film thats producers have credits on this film unsurprisingly), the idea is to mount tension through paranormal phenomena and expert suspense. Wan provides a number of perfect angles and color to achieve the various moods. As much as you've been spooked this way by films before, you can't simply shirk the way the film creeps in — Wan won't have any of it. In fact, nothing here in terms of scare tactics will come as a revelation; many with a higher jumpiness tolerance will likely find it boring in many regards. No gore or horrific images to be found here — "Insidious" does it old school.

Once Shaye's character Elise and her two employees arrive on scene, the story mutates from paranormal suspense to other-worldly mystery. Elise explains what's going on — something that involves Dalton's soul being lost in a realm called The Further — and now they must rescue him. Whannell constructs an interesting mythology here and the story goes from horror to more of a mystery/thriller with demonic elements. In a sense he borrows from science fiction in establishing the rules of what's going on. It's mostly interesting, but in many instances flat-out weird to the point that horror purists might not like it.

The best way to describe "Insidious" is first half "Paranormal Activity" and second half something akin to Sam Raimi's "Drag Me To Hell," which equates to a nice balance between self-seriousness and horror fun. The "X" factor would be the performances. Byrne keeps Renai from becoming an obnoxious scaredy cat as her role's importance dwindles in the latter half of the film, in which time she still keeps Renai relevant. Wilson's character is no typical over- macho father figure or anything. Together they provide an unusual boost for horror, which typically strives for random faces with questionable experience.

In general, "Insidious" possesses a professionalism not often seen in the genre; most horror films go for cheap across the board from the budget to the talent to the thrills. Although "Insidious" lacks distinctiveness in terms of story, not an ounce of it can be perceived as immature or hollow. What a rare (but not unusual) treat.

~Steven C

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When I first saw a preview for this movie, I knew it looked like it had potential. It had been a while since I saw a decent scary movie so I was looking forward to it. I went into it expecting some scares but nothing too bad. Wrong. This movie scared me out of my wits. I don't think I have ever jumped more during any other scary movie. The audience was spooked too. I saw many other people jumping out of their seats and even heard a few actual screams.

What I loved about this movie was that it actually tries to scare you, not gross you out. The images are frightening for sure. Insidious doesn't waste any time trying to creep you out. The scares already start with the opening credits. I sure was not expecting this to be one of the scariest movies i've seen but it lives up to that. That being said, I don't think I'd have the guts to see it again!

The film Insidious has done something many horror movies have failed to do recently, and that is to be scary.

Insidious has a lot of really intense moments that scare, and then grab hold of you. Its not entirely made up of "make you jump" scenes, which it does have, but scenes with genuine horror.

Insidious has taken a risk with doing something original, and It works here for them. Without giving anything away the movie does not just talk about whats scary, or show the the aftermath of something going on in a room that you can only hear until its over and the door magically unlocks. Insidious shows you whats scary, and quite often reminds you whats there, and waiting in the dark.

Of all the genre's that Hollywood has to offer, the most tattered of the bunch is without a doubt the horror department. I am so sick of these wannabe 'so called' horror flicks that belong on late night lifetime channel. Im sick of the same old parlor tricks and scare tactics that have been used for the past 10 years. And i am even more sickened by the fact that they keep making the same crap year after year. You would figure after great horror flicks like "The Decent" and "Paranormal Activity", studios would start realizing what actually works and what audiences want to see. Hopefully in the coming years, this genre' will come back to life.

When it comes to horror movies, i think the two most crucial elements are the cinematography, and the musical score. Actually, i prefer there to be no music at all. Almost all the great horror movies never use it, because they rely on scaring the audience with disturbing images, not raised music that makes everyone jump. If i want that, I'll go to a haunted house. When i go to see a horror flick, i want it to leave a lasting impression. However, movies like this are the one exception.

This film had such amazing cinematography, that i didn't even care about those 'raised music' sequences. I rarely get creeped out at the theater, and this movie scared the crap out of me. I'm talking' sweaty palms, eyes wide open, my body sunk all the way down in my chair scared. And for those of you who have read my reviews in the past, i hardly ever say that about a horror flick. And what really sold it was the cinematography. This film is packed with tons of really creepy and disturbing images. So much in fact, that you will hate walking into your dark house alone. Yes, they do use the same scare tactics, but since everything in the movie looked so damn creepy and demented, i for once didn't want the lead female to hurry up and open the basement door and get it over with.

The storyline is pretty decent. It's not an amazing concept or genuinely creepy on it's own. But it does a decent enough of a job to keep your interest and sell what your seeing unfold on screen. And it's safe to say that this is a very different take on your typical haunted house.

Bottom Line......holy crap, i just realized that this movie is only PG-13. Is it possible for a movie to be scary as hell and only be rated PG-13? The answer is yes, and this is a prime example of that. You know when a horror movie has done it's job? It's when it scares you both in the theater, and hours later when you try to sleep at night. Tonight, i will have lots of trouble sleeping. I can easily say that this will probably be the best horror movie of the year.

INSIDIOUS is yet another one of those Hollywood ghost stories involving a possessed child. It follows a predictable format, with minor, isolated incidents gradually giving way to larger-scale, more pronounced apparitions and events before culminating in a full-scale onslaught of evil. And it's all rather silly.

I enjoyed the first half of the movie. It's here where things are kept subtle and straightforward, with effectively creepy scare scenes and half-glimpsed figures spotted lurking in darkened rooms. So far, so good. But around the halfway mark, the film introduces a trio of paranormal investigators and things quickly descent into POLTERGEIST-style farce.

The problem with depictions of a hellish limbo or netherworld is that, in order to make something scary, you have to pretty much identify with the different fears of each viewer. Sorry, but I don't find tussles with greasy-looking hobos and Darth Maul from THE PHANTOM MENACE to be particularly frightening; in fact, there's something pantomime about the whole thing.

The actors, including the dependable Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson, do their best but at times in the latter stages they seem to struggle to keep a straight face while the ludicrous events increase in scale and speed. It's a shame that the whole thing goes to pot, because if it had been handled more sensitively (and with less sensationalism) by the team behind the SAW franchise then it could well have worked much better.