WARNING!: If you have not seen the first film, do not read this review, for there is no way to discuss the plot of this film without spoiling the last film's ending, as it picks up directly where the original left off.
Insidious Chapter 2:
After rescuing his son Dalton from "The Further" at the climax of Insidious, Josh Lambert returns to his wife Renai and his children. But, after the mysterious murder of Elise, a kind woman, family friend and spiritual medium, Renai begins to suspect something is wrong with Josh. After spotting several mysterious entities around their home (including a mysterious and frightening woman in a white gown), Renai and her mother-in-law begin to suspect Josh is not the same person they once knew, and enlist the help of Carl, Elise's old colleague, and her assistants (Specs and Tucker, two paranormal investigators) once again, attempting to be rid of the evil attacking their family once and for all. Now, this has to be one of the scariest, most well thought-out, well-written, and effective horror sequels of all time. After the success of The Conjuring, I would have thought James Wan was all horrored out, but he was able to deliver another terrifying film in the small space of a few months. This will be his last horror film for a little while, as he is set to direct Fast and the Furious 7, and this was well worth the wait. Not only was this a great horror movie, it's one of my favorites of the year, and my friend and I were able to go to a late screening Thursday night, and it was a great experience, and the audience got very into the movie (even cheering and clapping at certain moments). Some entities from the first film reappear, such as The Old Woman (who plays a major role in this film as the main villain, who is given much more backstory) and The Long-Haired Fiend (the trenchcoat-wearing, malicious entity from the first film, who reappears in a brief cameo), and some aspects of the film (the entity in white, the red lighting in certain sequences, the creepy and atmospheric opening credits) are obvious callbacks to the first film. Unfortunately, the Lipstick-Faced Demon (the main entity in the first film) does not make an appearance. The film's music is again done by Joseph Bishara, who does not appear in the film, despite appearing in other Wan films he has done music for. This film has great, spine-chilling music and imagery, that will stick with you long after the end credits. The film is every bit as atmospheric and disturbing as the first film, but with more realism added. The Old Woman is truly a terrifying villain, and I was glad to see her make a reappearance and have a larger role. Despite many effective jump scares, the film, like many of Wan's projects, relies on actual suspense and tension as opposed to gore or pop-up scares. Just like the last film, the main cast, including Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell (the writer of the film), Angus Sampson, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins (Little Children, Iron Man 3), and Steve Coulter all do terrific jobs and really ground the film in reality. Wilson is a lot more threatening and malevolent this time around (as his real self is trapped in the ghost world, and he is possessed by an evil spirit), and he excels and playing the dual role of villainous killer (possessed) and loving father (real self). J. LaRose (Saw III) and Tom Fitzpatrick reprise their roles as the entities from the first film. There is actually some effective humor in the film (which, like in Sinister, another great scary movie, alleviates the horror a little.) The special effects and makeup are amazing, and they really look great considering it's all practical, with very minimal computer effects. I'm not even sure there is CGI in this film. That's one of the reasons I love James Wan's films, they are really authentic and effective, and use reals props, costumes, and sets as opposed to using digital effects for everything. I found this film to be even scarier than the original, which is really rare, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will probably go see it again in the near future. Insidious Chapter 2 is a chilling, disturbing, and pretty original horror film that is definitely worth a couple viewings. 4.5/5 stars.
My review of the original: http://mattmonstermovies.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-reviews-insidious.html (from my horror movie blog)
SPOILER SEGMENT: Halfway through the film, it's revealed that The Old Woman is in fact a dead serial killer named Parker Crane, who was abused and mentally tormented by his insane mother (the woman in white), and raised as a girl even though he was male, and beaten if he claimed he was a boy. Parker grew up, and his mother's ghost tormented him as an adult, driving him insane. He became the sadistic and terrifying killer "Bride in Black", and disguised himself as a ghostly-looking old woman in a black wedding gown (which is an eerie and unsettling costume). He would kidnap women, young and old, and brutally and horrifically torture them to death and store their bodies in a secret room full of supplies. When Parker attempted to castrate himself due to gender identity issues due to his horrible childhood, he was transported to an ICU in a hospital where Josh's mother worked as a nurse. He attempted to attack Josh as a child, and eventually killed himself. He was jealous of Josh's youth, so when he died, his old woman persona became an apparition and stalked Josh in his sleep. This led to the events of Insidious. (What makes this interesting is that Wan had the woman played by a man in the first film as well, as it added a surreal element to the character, and it's cool that they incorporated a behind-the-scenes trivia fact into the actual plot.) As a ghost, Parker is split into two separate entities: an innocent and melancholy child dressed as a little girl, who is trapped by his mother's malevolent ghost, and the sadistic and pure evil killer in drag. In the end, Parker's young self is freed and his evil mother and serial killer persona destroyed. Josh and his family now can move on. Now onto the ending: In an epilogue sequence, Elise, now a friendly ghost, helps Specs and Tucker on several cases, including one of a young woman who was resuscitated after an accident. Since the accident, the young woman has been haunted by an evil presence. Elise attempts to communicate with the girl, but she is despondent. Elise hears the subtle but startling sound of cracking knuckles (in the first film, this signified the presence of the Lipstick-Faced Demon), she looks up, worried by the noise, and stares behind the girl into an empty, dark corner. Elise appears frightened, and gasps, and the screen goes black, leaving what she saw to the viewer's imagination and leaving the doorway open for a third installment. END OF SPOILERS.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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