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The Cinematic Katzenjammer: Oct 19: Insidious

Friday

Oct 19: Insidious

"A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further."
Directed by: James Wan, Rated: PG-13, 103 minutes

I have always been against PG-13 horror movies, thinking they can never go places you'd never expect or that the violence and terror would be too tame. Insidious turns all of those notions on its side, and delivers a very scary movie that goes plenty of places you won't expect and has genuinely uncomfortable scares, as opposed to the constant jump-out gimmick so many movies utilize. The third act, however, is a little disappointing but the film as a whole still delivers on the creepy goods and sticks with you. 

F**k you, word!

Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson play a young couple, Renai & Josh, with three kids, Foster, Dalton, and a newborn girl. As any horror movie would start, the family is seen moving into a new house. It's beautiful, it's old, and it's the perfect setting for something haunted. Dalton (Ty Simpkins) goes to sleep one night and never wakes up. Worried, his parents rush him to the hospital but after plenty of tests, the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with him, he's just simply slipped into a coma. Renai begins seeing things- apparitions hovering over her baby's crib and a figure standing outside a window. Convinced the place is haunted, Renai convinces Josh to move. Once arrived in their new home, the haunting continues and the couple is terrified. Not knowing what's going on, they call in a specialist (Lin Shaye), and she discovers that Dalton is an astral projector, someone who uses out of body experiences in his/her sleep to "explore" different realms. The reason Dalton is in the coma is because he's wandered too far into the darkness and his soul and mind are in danger. Thus, Renai and Josh must figured out a way to save their son from these demons haunting them, lingering around and waiting for his body to be "released" for possession. 

Rose is beautiful, but she keeps playing the same exasperated, overwhelmed characters. Let's see a smile already. 

Insidious crawls under your skin and plants itself deep inside you, festering and oozing out all sorts of psychological creep. Director James Wan (Saw- the good one) is a very good director, using an eerie edge to his films similar to what Fincher implemented in Se7en. There's a large attention paid to detail and sounds, drawing you only to hurl you across the room once the tables change. Sure, the jumpy gimmicks are still present and some scares are accentuated with loud music, but for the most part Insidious works slowly and burrows itself inside you. The entire idea behind the film is very original and it really changes up the idea of a haunted house story, turning it more into a haunted person tale. The entire film is full of dread, because you continually anticipate each new scare and the music has an almost-constant heartbeat to it, putting you on edge even further. It's a great buildup that actually delivers for once and makes you hate what you're watching. Seriously, Insidious has moments that just rape themselves into your mind, creeping you the f**k out.

And this song... why, why why? So. Creepy. No. Ass.  

Insidious is terrific for about 95 minutes. The ending leaves you very frustrated, almost hating how the entire thing is concluded. But moving past that, it's still a terrific horror movie in a day and age where the good ones are damn near impossible to come across. Insidious is a success in large part to the direction of James Wan and the acting, led by the ever-likable Patrick Wilson, a man you want to see no harm done to but continually gets tortured, scared, or abused (see Hard Candy). I don't scare easily. It really takes a lot to get me spooked but Insidious manages to tip-toe the line between the horrific and the cliche and deliver something worth watching. Sure, it'll most certainly be ruined by its sequels (you know they're coming), but in the meantime, I highly recommend it. Just turn it off when there's about 10 minutes left. 

The Good:
a continued layer of horror that leaves you very uncomfortable, with a dissonant score that exaggerates the bizarre and a constant heartbeat that leaves you on edge
The Bad:
a few scares that get you because of the jump factor and then immediately hate because they're so gimmicky
The Ugly:
f**k this movie's ending... it is so terribly lazy and reveals way too much, taking away a lot of the horror it hoped to create

Overall: 7.4/10

Trailer:

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15 Comments:

At October 19, 2012 at 8:05 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome write up. I've avoided reviewing this one for such a long time. I don't know why. You and I are of the same mind on this one. I think I liked it overall more than you did though. I really didn't mind the ending. Once again good job! I may watch it again this weekend on Netflix. Thanks.

 
At October 19, 2012 at 8:16 PM , Blogger Nick said...

Yeah, I only revisited it because it's on Netflix. Bad idea to do it home alone though lol. Link me once you get a review if you do in fact check it out again!

 
At October 19, 2012 at 8:26 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I'm sorry Nick. I just never found this movie to be scary. Using a song by Tiny Tim as your creepy music does not work for me.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 1:33 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm just going to go ahead and say meh,lol. I thought was alright but not never once was I the least but scared while watching it. Good review regardless

 
At October 20, 2012 at 5:39 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

I have to agree with you on the ending. Actually, as soon as Patrick Wilson entered the 'dream world' and finally met Darth Maul, the film took a turn for the ludicrous.

I have a draft review of Insidious that's been sat on my computer for nearly a year now. I just can't express how I felt about it. There were many moments of genius, especially when the spirits were showing themselves in the day-time. But inconsistent parts let it down i.e. the dorky paranormal detectives. I'm really not sure what I'd rate it!

 
At October 20, 2012 at 6:22 AM , Blogger alienxphile said...

Great review. I completely agree. Once he entered 'the further' the movie tanked. Same with Sinister. I enjoyed the spooky atmosphere, but the ending ruined it. Sinister/Insidious - (7.0/10.0)

 
At October 20, 2012 at 10:17 AM , Blogger Nick said...

Yeah. It's all over, very tricky to review but I still think it's a solid horror movie.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 10:17 AM , Blogger Nick said...

Still need to see Sinister but I have heard a lot of comparisons.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 10:17 AM , Blogger Nick said...

FIIIIINEEEE lol. I think it's creepy.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 10:18 AM , Blogger Nick said...

Haha. That's fine. I still think it's creepy lol

 
At October 20, 2012 at 12:14 PM , Blogger s. said...

I don't really find Wilson likable, in fact after seeing Little Children I'd gladly punch him ^^ I enjoyed Insidious and its ending, but the third act with the ghosts appearing in the house was really silly. That said the film scared me a lot, especially that loud music cue that accompanied something scary appearing on screen.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 1:05 PM , Blogger Mavi@filmscope said...

You may not like Patrick but it was a great performance in Little Children..

 
At October 20, 2012 at 2:11 PM , Blogger Nick said...

That is true. He's always a pretty good actor, even if he's not the most likable character.

Glad someone else liked the music too!

 
At October 20, 2012 at 4:39 PM , Blogger s. said...

Have I stated I thought his performance's was bad? I believe I haven't.

 
At October 20, 2012 at 6:25 PM , Blogger Nick said...

So you liked him? :-D

 

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