In 2011, Insidious, known as one of the scariest
movies of all time came out, and did very well for an independent film and a
James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence, Death Sentence)
film. Now comes its sequel, Insidious:
Chapter 2, so apparently each ‘Insidious’ movie will be based off of an
incredibly long chapter of the book, Insidious?
How was the acting?
Insidious: Chapter 2 stars Patrick Wilson (Insidious), Rose Byrne (X-Men:
First Class), Barbara Hershey (Black
Swan), Lin Shaye (There’s Something
About Mary), and Ty Simpkins (Insidious).
The overall acting aspect of the film held up through the struggles of the characters,
but didn’t leave me overwhelmed by the performances. I wasn’t clearly focused
on the acting, which would be a “plus” for the actors, but the primary reason I
wasn’t focused on the acting was because I was focused on aspects of the film
that didn’t have to do with the actors. Some of the characters didn’t have any
layers, making the acting part for them fairly simple. The best aspect of the acting
was the fact that there were no portrayal flaws with the actors. Rose Byrne’s
character, Renai Lambert, (better explained: The Mom) was portrayed as the mom.
That role was the easiest role of the film, though the role of Lorraine Lambert
(Barbara Hershey) was simple, but her character did have a hint of layers to
it. The character with the most layers, though, was Josh Lambert (Patrick
Wilson). His character had to be different in every act of the film. Patrick Wilson
seamed to play several parts: The Creepy Dad from The Shining, The Guy Who’s Possessed, The Demon Speaking Through A
Human’s Body That’s A Bad Liar, and Josh Lambert. Those were all played very
well. Lin Shaye, playing Elise Rainer, portrayed the strong female character
well, but she said every sentence the same way, and her voice didn’t match her
character. Ty Simkins as Dalton Lambert actually did well. He wasn’t in the
movie much, but when he was, he matched the character well, he didn’t mess up,
and he showed the right emotion that he needed to.
How was the writing?
The
screenplay is written by Leigh Whannell (Saw),
who also shares a credit with James Wan for the story, and has his own credit
for the characters. The screenplay, though cheesy and absurd in some moments,
was very good. Even though dialogue between characters could have been more
effective and had more thought, the dialogue matched the mood of the film.
There were comedic elements in Insidious:
Chapter 2 turning it more in the direction of a “fun” horror movie, because
there were several comedic lines, and most of them were very funny to me. Some
of the ways the scares were written were also thought out too far, or thought
out in the wrong direction as a “minus” to the film. There were poorly written
scares in this film, like there were in Insidious.
Though, as the film progressed, I really liked the way some scenes were
written. Some lines and plot events created a massive amount of suspenseful
scenes that sometimes kept me on the edge of my seat. There were also “fight”
scenes between characters that were choreographed really well. There were some
predictable elements and some clichés along with the action sequences, though. The
writing was very, very good overall.
Did it have an interesting premise?
The premise
isn’t bland, but it isn’t original, either. It does have elements of the typical
horror movie sequel, and it has several elements to it that were copying off of
other horror franchises. I did really appreciate the story, which is by James
Wan & Leigh Whannell (as said in the writing section) though. It went in a
direction of a mystery-type film that nearly intrigued me. There were plot
events of it that tied into Insidious,
which I thought was excellently done, and flat-out excellent as well. Some of
the story events later in the film were very original, too, and had fresh
elements. I really “dug” the story and was surprised by many aspects of it and
how well it was executed. The story of the film was nearly great.
Was it entertaining or boring?
The first
15-25 minutes of the film (after the prologue) were the worst parts of the film
to me. I predicted many of the scares that happened, it had several failed jump
scares, and it had many of the elements that I didn’t like from Insidious used as scares for it. It just
seemed to be people walking around in the middle of the night, looking at
things, then a few jump scares, and then it’s time for that to happen to
someone else, and then start from the beginning. Because of that, the first
15-25 minutes seemed genuinely boring to me. I enjoyed every second of the rest
of the film, though. There were dull moments after a creepy night, but those
are in every horror movie. There were several traumatic moments that I really
felt trauma at; there were very creepy moments and some very good scares. If a
horror movie is scaring somebody, they will not be bored from it. That’s a positive
thing about taking on the horror genre. I wouldn’t say I was scared at scenes
that were traumatic, but they were solidly creepy. I really got into the film
in the second half of it, because the first half of it seemed like a
horror/thriller film. The second half was an exciting thriller movie. There
were two parts during the film when everyone in the theater started clapping, because
something very exhilarating happened. The film was also unpredictable to me. I
didn’t expect the complete opposite of everything that happened, but I was
surprised by some things and I didn’t predict any of the events. I was not
bored by the film and I was intrigued, somewhat scared, exhilarated, and very
thrilled by the film. Insidious: Chapter
2 was an extremely enjoyable film.
What things in particular did I like about
the film (that I haven’t already said)?
There was
well done makeup work in the film. James Wan has been known to use makeup effects
to make his ghosts and demons look like ghosts and demons, and do it very well.
Actors and actresses played theses ghosts and demons, just with makeup. There
were some elements in this movie that stuck with me. Some of the scares in this
film got to me.
What things in particular did I dislike
about the film (that I haven’t already said)?
There were
over-the-top elements in the storyline that didn’t fit in and seemed somewhat
absurd. There were also plot elements that went too far. There was also
unrealistic dialogue between characters that I knew would not happen. Some of
the characters actions were not logical to the character and certain things
they did, did not reflect on what a normal human would do in that situation.
How was it overall?
Insidious: Chapter 2 has very good
acting, very, very good writing, a nearly great story, was extremely enjoyable,
had very interesting, some intriguing and exhilarating moments, some very good
scares, many traumatic moments, was a solidly creepy movie, had good makeup
work, but had some over-the-top elements, some plot events that went too far,
some illogical and unrealistic character action and dialogue, several failed
jump scares, some horror movie clichés, a bad first 15-25 minutes, and some
cheesy dialogue between characters. This was a great horror movie overall.
Do I recommend this film?
Since I
thought that Insidious: Chapter 2 was
a great horror movie, I would recommend it to somebody. I think it really exceeds
Insidious, but I think people who
loved Insidious won’t care for this
one. I think people that liked Insidious
would think that Insidious: Chapter 2
is alright. I think people that thought the first one was alright (like me)
will love Insidious: Chapter 2.
What’s this film’s rating?
Off of my
rating scale, this film’s rating is “I’ll Probably Buy This”.
On the grading rating scale, I give it an A-.
On the out-of-100 scale, I give it a 92/100.
On the grading rating scale, I give it an A-.
On the out-of-100 scale, I give it a 92/100.
Will I buy this film?
This is a great film to me that is
faintly original. It is the better of the two ‘Insidious’ movies, so I think it
would be worth owning
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