It is strange that “Insidious: Chapter 2” even exists, with director James Wan releasing a spiritual successor to the series earlier this year in “The Conjuring.” The first “Insidious” was a unique take on the haunted house genre that had a tightly knit story and believable characters. “Insidious 2” recaptures most of what makes for first film great, but at the cost of accessibility.
This film is a direct continuation of the first, so the review will contain spoilers to the first film.
“Insidious” follows the Lambert family as they move into a new house and begin to experience paranormal events. The family soon discovers it was not the house that was haunted, but their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins). They hire paranormal expert Elise (Lin Shaye), who reveals that years ago the same problem haunted the father Josh (Patrick Wilson). The film ends with Josh going into the “dark world” to battle the spirit and rescue his son.
The sequel picks up directly where the first film ended, with the family trying to adjust to life after the haunting, but something may have followed Josh out of the “dark world.” Meanwhile, a new team of ghost hunters is investigating the death of Elise and the history of the spirit who followed Josh back into the world of the living.
If that synopsis sounds dumb, that is because it is. The film’s script is comedic at best, but works for the tone of the film, which tries to showcase the clichés of the haunted house genre. However, the comedic story does not detract from the horror of the film.
The cinematography for the film is masterful. Wan perfected the craft of holding a shot just long enough to build up the tension then pull away to reveal a scare. It is a simple trick that works every time and results in a few great jump scares in the film.
All of the actors return to their roles effortlessly, giving good if not great performances. Rose Byrne and Lin Shaye both give strong performances with authentic looks of terror. If there were one weak link it would be Patrick Wilson, who is playing both a victim and the villain, but fails to reach a medium between them.
Even though the film is scary, its story alienates new viewers because it is a direct sequel. “Insidious 2” expects that you are aware of how the world works and the mythology surrounding it, and wastes no time in explaining it to those who have not seen the previous film. This makes the film very confusing to watch, especially once the film starts jumping between different time periods throughout the series history.
It does not really seem like there was a good reason to start this film directly after the first, except the fact that it means they could extend the story from the first. They tried to give a backstory to the spirit haunting the family, but in doing that they remove part of the terror. A big part of the fear comes from the mystery of what the monster is, but once revealed the spirit becomes a joke.
“Insidious 2” is still a good horror film. It is tense when it needs to be and it is consistently scary. Unfortunately, these scary moments are a bit too dependent on your knowledge of the first film. If you have not seen the first film, “Insidious 2” does not give you any reason to see it.
