James Wan is an incredibly good horror director, partially because he loves the horror genre so very much and partially because he uses that knowledge of old school horror to make some pretty frightening horror films. Beginning with Saw and right through to the wonderful Conjuring, Wan has becoming increasingly synonymous with films that genuinely scare his audience and good casting decisions which make it that little bit more believable.
Although the beginning of Insidious worked for the first hour, there was a change in direction for the latter part of the film that basically just went astray. The initial hour was heavy on scares, terrifying random incidents and lots of dramatic tension. However, the second hour became literally lost in a spiritual world which dragged the story somewhat and left the viewer questioning if Insidious Chapter 1 was in fact two different films.
Although Wan and his scriptwriter Leigh Whannell have returned for a second chapter that could have worked, the pair have done little to correct the problems from the first film.
Insidious: Chapter 2 begins with the back story to the first film, basically what had initially happened to Josh in his youth, an event which was covered up for his benefit by his mother. Insidious 2 then essentially picks up where the last film left off, Patrick Wilson’s character Josh has returned with his son from the dark spiritual world, but unfortunately, they have lost Elise, the medium who had helped them find each other. Josh and his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) are taken in for questioning to find out what happened to her, but Renai is convinced that her husband has nothing to do with the crime.
However, it soon becomes clear that the spirits have not left the family alone. Strange events begin to occur in the house again, Josh’s mother’s home as the family can not return to their own while the investigation into Elise is ongoing. Renai sees a woman who is haunting the house, the piano seems to play a tune by itself and she becomes extremely suspicious of her husband who seems to be acting entirely out of character…
Unfortunately, although the cast turn in amazing performances once again, particularly Patrick Wilson who is particularly evil in the second part, the film is low on scares and it really won’t be anything that you haven’t seen in the first part. It’s almost as if Insidious 2 is literally cashing in on the good reputation of the first part.
On top of that, where the first film begins to lose its way, the second part follows that same path, which just leads the entire production into the middle of nowhere. Although Wan can be predictable from time to time, you expect him to deliver on the scares but that doesn’t really happen here.
If you are a fan of the first one, it’s probably worth seeing Chapter 2 but if you are a horror fan, there is nothing new here.
