Review of Insidious (2011) by Afza M — 25 Dec 2013

It is a bit strange that James Wan and Leigh Whannell, arguably responsible for the downfall of horror over the last decade as creators of the "Saw" franchise (the first few were decent, but that's another whole subject), are now, arguably, the ones breathing new life into the genre. It is no radical idea to say that over the past decade, tension and atmosphere have given way to cringes and gross-outs. So, it really is great to see a film, especially one as successful as "Insidious," come along that relies on so little gore, but rather on sheer atmosphere.

Much of the atmosphere is thanks to the cinematography which, even during the day-time moments of suspense, create an overtly dark and noir-ish mood. The plot, as well, was impressively fresh for as tired of plotlines as modern horror typically have. It seems there is only so much that can be done with the idea of "hauntings," and the fact that Whannell finds a way to really rejuvenate the subject is impressive to say the least.

The film isn't without its flaws, though. Wan's climaxes (such as with "The Conjuring") typically seem to go just a hair too far, departing from creeping terror and just momentarily slipping into the unbelievable. It is not enough to ruin the film, but these small moments that remove us from being fully immersed really forfeit some of the films' truly terrifying potential. Additionally, while typically I welcome ambiguous endings, because as with reality, nothing really ends in for certain manner; the last maybe 15 seconds of the film created so much additional story that cutting to credits simply fesls like cutting the film off half-way through. Setting up a sequel is one thing, especially for the horror genre, but "Insidious" really feels like one fantastic 3-4 hour horror epic - that the creators simply did not know where to cut in half. To be completely honest, the final 15 seconds leaving the film feeling so widely unfinished cost it a 1/2-star rating.