Insidious: Chapter 2 Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Terror and Violence, and Thematic Elements)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes

Cast-

Patrick Wilson-Josh Lambert

Rose Byrne-Renai Lambert

Barbara Hershey-Lorraine Lambert

Lin Shaye-Elise Rainier

Steve Coulter-Carl

Leigh Whannell-Specs

Angus Sampson-Tucker

Ty Simpkins-Dalton Lambert

Andrew Astor-Foster Lambert

Michael Beach-Detective Sendal

Jocelin Donahue-Young Lorraine Lambert
Garrett Ryan-Young Josh Lambert

Lindsay Seim-Young Elise Rainier

Hank Harris-Young Carl

Tom Fitzpatrick-Parker Crane

Tyler Griffin-Young Parker Crane

Danielle Bisutti-Mother of Parker Crane

Directed by James Wan

Shhh...

Note: Screened on Thursday, September 5, 2013 at AMC Empire 25.

It was business as usual at the summer box office this year as the top ten highest grossing films of the season were once again dominated by sequels, prequels, and reboots. Among the few surprises on that list is James Wan's critically acclaimed horror hit "The Conjuring" (87% on Rotten Tomatoes), which opened to a record-breaking $41.9 million despite competing with three other releases. The horror genre has a propensity for being very front-loaded but strong word-of-mouth from moviegoers helped the haunted house flick overcome that issue and as of Labor Day, it has earned over $240 million worldwide—twelve times its production budget! Wan isn't resting on his laurels however. The Malaysian-born Australian director recently took over the "Fast and Furious" franchise from Justin Lin and is currently hard at work on the seventh installment (already set to be released next summer) but he's still got one more film up his sleeve before the year is over and that's "Insidious: Chapter 2." A throwback to the Hammer horror movies of yore, the original "Insidious" was released in 2011 to generally positive reviews with 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its somewhat disappointing debut over opening weekend, the film held on surprisingly well at the domestic box office and eventually earned close to $100 million worldwide against a measly $1.5 million production budget. A sequel was pretty much a done deal. "Insidious: Chapter 2" is a bit of a letdown when compared to Wan's recent work but it remains a well-made, entertaining horror flick that offers up all the requisite thrills and chills, as well as a few unexpected laughs.

When Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert's (Rose Byrne) son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) finds himself trapped in a spiritual realm known as 'The Further'—a place populated by the tormented souls of the dead—his father manages to rescue him but the family's happiness proves to be short-lived. Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), the psychic hired by Josh's mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey) to help ward off the demonic entity seeking to possess Dalton's body, has been found dead from an apparent strangulation. As the local police investigate her death, the Lamberts temporarily move in with Lorraine and try to forget about their recent ordeal. However, the paranormal events that have haunted them continue to occur as Renai starts to suspect that the man standing before her is not her real husband. In order to finally vanquish the malevolent spirit now inhabiting Josh's body, the Lamberts must uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

With a few exceptions, the original "Insidious" stuck fairly close to the tried-and-true haunted house formula and while it didn't exactly do anything new, the film was still one heck of a scary thrill ride as innocuous conversations were suddenly interrupted by demonic visages and of course, who could forget Wan's creepy use of Tiny Tim's Tiptoe Through the Tulips. Horror sequels can be tricky to pull off as the director has to avoid falling into the trap of doing a lazy rehash and unfortunately, you get the sense that Wan is doing just that in the first act of "Insidious: Chapter 2." As soon as the opening credits are over, Renai is once again hearing strange noises on the baby monitor and chasing shadows in darkened hallways. Some of the jump scares, like having a person accidentally knock over a baby walker one too many times, feel rather cheap. There's the usual assortment of ghostly apparitions that lurk on the edge of the frame before abruptly appearing when a character turns around but for the most part, the 'horror' aspect of the film isn't what you would call inspired as "Chapter 2" lacks the eerie, otherworldly dread of its predecessor. Seems like Wan used up his entire bag of tricks for "The Conjuring."

"Insidious: Chapter 2" actually works better when the story starts delving into mystery/domestic thriller territory, with the script from Wan and Leigh Whannell taking a number of cues from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." Josh is obviously not himself since his return from the Further and a big chunk of the film is devoted to unraveling the secret behind the 'Old Woman' that is now in possession of his body. Normally, a horror film loses its mystique as more is revealed and questions are answered but that's not the case here. Wan clearly put a lot of thought into logically meshing the events of "Chapter 2" with the events of the original as situations in the first "Insidious" are shown from a different perspective. The introduction of a time travel element might leave some scratching their heads but it works in the context of the film due to how well the puzzle pieces eventually fit together by the end.

A common complaint about the previous installment is the comedy relief provided by bumbling ghost-hunters Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson). I didn't have any real problem with them as I thought their antics were pretty funny, which is something you wouldn't expect out of a 'horror' film that's trying to strike fear into you. Of course, if you found them annoying in the first one then you probably won't enjoy "Chapter 2" as they figure prominently into the plot. As expected, things get crazy once the third act rolls around, with Josh going full-on Jack Torrance on his family (switch out the fire axe with a fire extinguisher) while the revelations regarding the spirit inhabiting his body has echoes of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." When Wan described "Insidious: Chapter 2" in an interview as a 'domestic thriller with supernatural elements,' he was right on the money. The opening act is the only time when the film plays out like the first one before switching genres. It's jarring and dilutes the scares but the mystery element succeeds in holding your attention.

From a technical standpoint, "Chapter 2" is very well-constructed, with Wan once again taking advantage of every amount of space in the house for maximum effect. Joseph Bishara's score is just as spine-tingling as the first one with its blaring, dissonant violin strings. Performances are also strong and help ground the film in spite of its sillier aspects. Most of the heavy dramatic lifting is from Rose Byrne as Renai, whom you really sympathize given what she's going through. She almost lost her son and now she's in danger of losing her husband as well. As a possessed Josh, Patrick Wilson is suitably creepy with his too-perfect smile and subtly menacing gaze. It's not quite Jack Nicholson but it comes close, especially when Wilson is finally allowed to fully go off-the-rails during the film's climax. Barbara Hershey reprises her role as Josh's mother Lorraine and it's nice to see a character taking the initiative in halting the strange occurrences that are dogging her family. Lin Shaye is also back as Elise despite being strangled to death in the previous film. I won't reveal how she returns but suffice to say, her presence is very welcome. Rounding out the cast is Steve Coulter as an old friend of Elise's and of course, Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson as our clumsy ghost-hunters.

"Insidious: Chapter 2" is set to be released on September 13, 2013 (yes, that's Friday the Thirteenth) and while there are a few scattered reviews on line, most critics will start posting theirs sometime next week. Reception for the sequel will likely be a bit more mixed this time around but it should do reasonably well at the box office given the goodwill Wan has garnered for himself this past summer. Like the first one, "Chapter 2" ends on a cliffhanger, only it's completely unrelated to the main plot as the Lambert's storyline closes on a definitive note. It's hard to see where a "Chapter 3" might go so my advice would be to stop here since this film is already suffering from the law of diminishing returns. Wan tries to do something a little different by playing with various genres within a horror framework and while he isn't entirely successful, "Insidious: Chapter 2" manages to still offer some decent frights despite not fully recapturing what made the original so good.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"I know what happened! I want into that place to get our son back and something evil followed me!"