Insidious: Chapter 2

You Will Jump Out Your Skin

Director: James Wan

Release Date: 2013

Rating: 15

Running Time: 104 mins
Genre: Horror/ Drama
Actors: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye

The fantastically twisted duo, Leigh Whannell and James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence) team up once again for the mysterious horror sequel ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ with more scares and one more run in with the creepy old woman. After the disturbing and weird song featured in chapter 1, the film includes a new eerie track and even more unnerving characters, matching the fear created in the first film. Following on from the first chapter, the film takes place seconds after the first one finishes on its grueling cliff-hanger, where we see the Lambert family, still haunted by the sinister supernatural beings, continue to torment and endanger them all. This film will definitely have audiences screaming and jumping out their seats which consequently may leave them sleeping with a light on for the next few days.

The best thing about this film is how every other minute there is something else that will spook the viewers and make them jump with terror. For me it was a lot of fun, especially as it was playing on a big screen and I was surrounded by loads of people all feeling the same thing.  For me, these types of scares are the most exciting ones in horror films, as it focuses on more the psychological side of things appose to just straight up gore and violence. I can guarantee that this film will make even the bravest audience members want to take a spare pair of underwear with them. Furthermore, unlike most horror films, ‘Insidious’ is very unpredictable in what will scare the audience next, so nobody will be able give the usual spiel about knowing what’s coming. What’s more, the film genuinely will have you constantly trying to guess what’s going to happen and only at the end will everything become clear, so it’s well worth sticking with it. In a way, it feels like the ‘Insidious’ films are a mixture of ‘Paranormal Activity’ and a contemporary ‘Poltergeist’ that’s taken a similar narrative and completely turned it on its side to horrify and perplex audiences through the way it shows supernatural forces persistently haunting a helpless family, terrifying audiences.

I’ve spoken about Leigh Whannel’s work before in my review of ‘Saw’, but I do think it must be said that the man really does know how to amaze audiences his narratives. It’s hard to talk about the ‘Saw’ and ‘Insidious’ films he’s written and not give anything away because of the complexity of them all. I found it really hard after I saw ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’  to not go and tell everyone about the ending and everything that happens, given that the films are so cleverly connected. I do think that if you are interested in seeing chapter 2 then it’s really important that you see the first one beforehand, due to the close connection and the way they follow on. The only problem with laying the film out like this is that the children might grow up too quickly consequently making them seem too different and therefore making the film too unbelievable. James Wan and Leigh Whannell faced this difficulty prior to ‘Insidious’ when they came to make ‘Saw III’, where the director actually said the young actor who played Daniel grew up overnight and that meant they couldn’t use him again in later films. Nonetheless I found that despite there being two and a bit years between the release of ‘Insidious’ and ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ the boys in the Lambert family didn’t appear to have aged much at all and therefore meant the film worked better, still having the same chilling effects of the first one.

So it should be said that if you were a fan of the first film or you just enjoy being scared in the cinema it’s definitely worth checking this next installment out, but make sure you bring clean underwear and a group of friends because it’s not one that you will want to see alone.

8/10