Review of Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) by Josh M — 24 May 2014

I wasn't particularly fond of the first installment, but felt in genre of film where there is so little quality, Insidious is much better than most. It sets a very unsettling tone with it's imagery and score that makes you feel much more engaged that you would normally be.

For Chapter 2, the exact same formula is used which is not surprising as the original was so warmly received: a "why fix what not broken" approach pretty much sums the movie up. Even if you liked the original, I'm sure you will find Ch.2 disappointing, however. Everything just feels watered-down.

Review Points:

- The violin/piano music is carried over from the original and continues to be quite effective in creating a sense of dread. It's pretty frightening.

- Very weak dialogue throughout. Much of the story's plot is given in cliche monologues.

- I liked that they kept the same cast in Ch.2. The continuation is nice.

- Just like the original, 99% of the scares come from quick cuts. It's a pretty cheap way to get jumps. You more or less know when they're coming this time around, though.

- SPOILER: The movie lacks a strong antagonist. In the original, we were given the red demon as the main villain. He turned out to be but a henchmen/false antagonist for the Lady in the Black Dress. In Ch.2, we are given another henchmen doing the bidding for the Lady. However, we don't ever see him. He takes the form of Josh the entire movie.

- On that point, the antagonist, Parker Craine possessing/trying to possess Josh was very similar to Jack Nicholson's character from the Shining. What even stranger is the how exactly the same both Patrick Wilson and Jack Nicholson were in failing to successfully show the transformation over the course of the film: Patrick Wilson as Josh is completely blank-faced the entire movie. He shows no emotion, no warmth, nothing. You never get attached to him in any way that you sense when he is no longer himself (but the ghost/demon) Jack Nicholson had the same problem. Both actors gave off a creepy, something's up vibe from the time the movie started.

- The spirits of the dream sequences continue to be creepy, but feel much less so this time around.

- On that point of dream sequences, they are probably my favorite part of the movies (besides the score). These slow-motion, blurry, setups genuinely feel like a nightmare. You really feel like you're in a dream. It's very similar to the original Nightmare on Elm Street.

- So much cheesy supernatural story elements. In the original, it was equally so, but it felt more so like a classic ghost story. It's pretty eyerolling this time around. They use a lot of this to fill in the plot holes of the movie. Many times throughout Ch.2, you'll be like "I don't understand what is going on or what does this all mean?" only to have an old lady/old man reveal some old, unknown secret some 5min later that magically explains it all. Hyperbole to give example:

"Why is that jar floating?".

- "Well, long ago, there was a demon who hated jars. Everyday he comes back to take revenge on those who use jars.".

These type of long, detailed backstories are given to explain so much of what is going on in the movie. You can't just figure it out on your own. It's impossible. You have to wait for them to make sense of it for you.

- Tucker and Specs as the bumbling ghostbusters are funny, but really don't belong in this movie (or the original) They are comic relief in a movie that shouldn't have comic relief. They come in and completely ruin the atmosphere.

- I did not understand the whole Parker Craine as a boy dressed as a daughter killing for his mother plot. It was very strange. It was like Psycho meets Friday the 13th. What happened to the red demon from the first film and Lady in the Black Dress? Where, how, and why did we get Parker Craine as the antagonist when Insidious 1 clearly ended with the Lady in the Black Dress and the Red Demon still alive and well?

- I completely glossed over the time-traveling in the Further part. I didn't get it at all.

- I didn't like how they dedicated so much of the movie to exploring the mythos of the Lady in the Black Dress. By humanizing her, she felt much less scary.