Insidious: Chapter 2 Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: The Lambert family continues to be haunted as they uncover Josh's past relationship with the old woman and attempt to reunite him with his body.

Review: So after waiting all year for this film to come out, I hate to admit it, but my initial reaction is that of disappointment. This is not to say that this movie isn't good, because it is, it's just nowhere near as memorable or scary as the first one which you'll remember I even ranked in my top 10 scariest of all time. Now the critics are ripping this sequel to shreds, however, it's nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be, but I understand their complaints; I have quite a few gripes myself. While some of the criticism is not entirely fair, I feel the main problems lie in the weak and unnecessary explanation of the ghost, paradoxical time traveling (which I can't stand as I mentioned with "The Grudge" franchise), a continued lack of understanding of "the further," and a general lack of scares. Before I go into detail of why I was let down, I feel this film was still worthy of a lot of praise which I will discuss.

The first thing I noticed when going into this followup was how beautifully it was shot. The lighting is near perfect for creating an unsettling atmosphere with red and green lights purposely thrown into the mix for effect; can't say I've ever had a red light at my house though. Certain props are positioned in conjunction with various camera angles to masterfully add tension with the audience second guessing their own vision as the occasional background ghost will blend in with said props. You don't even know how much I love these kind of details, and thankfully this attention to detail and tiny nuances are strewn throughout the entirety of the film. The sets, designs, and overall cinematography are excellent and most certainly the strongest part of the film. Beyond this, I would say there is an overwhelmingly powerful sense of production quality that is rare in horror films these days especially when they're low-budget, and, all hype aside, this film still had a relatively small budget. Furthermore, the music is just as excellent as the original and maybe even applied a little better this time with that gothic-themed style. The ghosts mostly look better this time around with a noticeable increase in makeup effects rather than the normal, human-looking ghosts from part one (Darth Maul demons not included). The scares, while substantially decreased, were still pretty good with a fantastic standout moment that had me on edge and a little jumpy. The film feels short, which is a good thing, because it means you're so engrossed in the story that time appears to be passing by quickly; there was some captivating intrigue that will keep you guessing as to the direction of the plot even if it's not exactly where I wanted things to go. Lastly, as for the acting, I felt it was decent enough with some strong performances from the likes of  mega-milf, Rose Byrne, and a few others; I especially liked Jocelin Donahue, of "The House of the Devil" fame, as the young Lorraine. The only reason I bring this up is because I've heard a lot of criticism of the actors, especially Patrick Wilson, and I don't really understand the basis for this claim; I thought he did a good job, and, as I've said before, I want Mr. Wilson in more horror films!

Okay, now let's address the multiple moments that left myself and others disappointed when walking out of the theater. First and foremost, I could not stand the reason why the ghost attached itself to Josh to begin with nor could I tolerate the asinine backstory for the ghost. Oh okay, so Josh, as a child, randomly goes to visit his mom at work one day, since she's a nurse at a hospital, and the ghost, Parker, still very much alive, all of a sudden starts screaming at Josh and that's it?! Wouldn't it make more sense for a ghost to attach itself to someone connected to them, or, if you make it random, can we at least have the individual already dead when they choose who to haunt?! That's like saying I see some random kid tomorrow, I die, then I decide to haunt that kid for no inexplicable reason. It would have made more sense if the mom was Parker's caregiver, he died, then he haunted the mother, then sensing Josh's predisposition for astral projection, attempted to take over his body. No matter how you look at it, this was a wasted opportunity to create a connection between the ghost and Josh and instead it is random and makes no sense since Parker was alive when he met Josh and he only saw him for what, like 30 seconds? As for Parker's backstory, it feels too cookie-cutter for me to accept; of course he had to be a serial killer because all ghosts have to be super evil and can't just be everyday assholes? Plus, why even make Parker a man? So what if a guy is playing a female ghost, keep her female! I'll admit, there were some awesome moments connected to uncovering Parker's past like when we see his chapel of dead bodies, but I still did not like explaining away his origin. Wouldn't it have been so much creepier if Josh simply attracted a malevolent spirit from "the further" when astral projecting, and we have no idea what this being is except some twisted evil force, taking on the guise of an undead bride, desiring nothing more than escape from its torturous eternity? Eh, maybe it's me; maybe I want something too specific of a taste that the general public wouldn't be satisfied with?

As for the time traveling shenanigans: how do you haunt yourself without creating a paradoxical loop? I tried to make sense of it in "The Grudge" films and it simply does not add up. If I, as a ghost, time traveled to talk to my past self, could I not simply tell myself "do such and such differently" and would that not alter reality and the very circumstances that led to my death?! And if time is set, and I already performed these actions, then that is a paradox because how did the events unfold the first time to begin with? You see what I'm saying here? This part was incredibly frustrating, because I am open to the idea that what we believe are ghosts are glimpses of other times, dimensional rifts, or whatever, but I am not understanding how one could haunt themselves. And don't even give me that "Josh wasn't dead" cop out excuse; the same principles apply and Elise was dead anyway and could have easily talked to her past self if she so desired. Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than needed? Well, the other major problem lies with "the further" and a continued lack of proper presentation. Is "the further" hell or what because Elise mentions hell and the demon's place in the story makes less sense since he is absent from this film. In my mind "the further" makes more sense than I believe the writers are intending or they are not getting their point across strongly enough and need to emphasize certain ideas. There are people who claim to have had near-death experiences and what they saw was a place of pure darkness where there is nothing but other dead people pulling, scratching, biting, etc. at you and you have no means of escape. I'm assuming this is what the basis for "the further" is or maybe it's merely what it should be. I want the writers to emphasize that "the further" is this miserable plane of existence where there is absolutely no light and you are surrounded by other tortured souls who relive their worst memories forever and would do just about anything to desperately escape which is why they try so hard to latch onto those who can astral project. It's hard to explain, but I want more focus on why "the further" is such a horrible place, but, then again, there was some line about it being an intermediate place so I guess they're going more for a purgatory-esque approach? The other thing that doesn't make sense is the degree to which these memories of the ghosts exist. Josh and crew appear to be inside Parker's mind, but I kind of got the impression that Parker's mom's ghost was her own entity. But this can't be if Elise stresses that she is a memory Parker himself can overcome. Speaking of which, Parker's childhood-self is somehow a separate entity independent of his adult ghost-self? Oh fuck it, I should have just said this: too many moments are needlessly confusing and make no sense even if you brush them off with the belief that "the further" works differently than our reality. The last thing I'll say is that the final shot of Elise looking scared of something was a wasted opportunity to insert our beloved Darth Maul demon. Imagine how much better of an ending it would have been if we see the demon has moved on to another family and it already has a vendetta against Elise!

Despite how harsh I was on this film, I actually did like this sequel for what it was. The only reason why I am so overly critical is because my expectations were really high, and I was even hoping against hope it could surpass the original since there was a lot of room to expand. Obviously I have my gripes that I have outlined in great detail (and even that is a toned down version), but I can't ignore the incredible production quality and overall excellent presentation. The scares, tension, and atmosphere are still good, better than most really, and I can't let my disappointment overshadow these accomplishments. The story and mythos are expanded upon with some cool ideas while entrancing the audience with the unfolding events surrounded by an intriguing mystery. I would still highly recommend this film, but don't expect it to be as good as part one or at least lower your expectations a bit and maybe you will come out happily surprised. There is even more room than before to continue with a chapter 3, and I can safely say I would still be excited about further installments beyond one more film.

Notable Moment: When Dalton is speaking to the ghost inside the closet and then he is surrounded by a horde of crazy ghosts vying for his body. It was a great setup and most certainly the scariest moment in the film.

Final Rating: 7/10