film review: Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
No Comment
If you’ve seen Insidious, you will no doubt be wondering… how are they going to pick up from that ending? If you haven’t seen it, you probably shouldn’t watch Insidious: Chapter 2 just yet, because it’s not going to make an awful lot of sense.
Insidious: Chapter 2 – after a short intro – picks up where Insidious left off, seeking to explain the events of the last film. So if you haven’t seen Insidious you’re going to be in a bit of trouble. Do try to watch the first one first. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.
I should set out the store by saying, I’m a big fan of James Wan and Leigh Whannell. For all the horror films released you’d be forgiven for thinking that making a horror film is easy. Well, it is and it isn’t. It’s certainly easy to produce something that’d be classed as a horror, but it’s quite another thing to create a welcome addition to the genre.
As far as I’m concerned, James Wan has been knocking it out of the park for a while now. Himself and Whannell are the most interesting thing to happen to horror in years. For a start, they know how to inject some life into a horror film. They’re not afraid to try something a little different. Have a little fun.
Now, this does, of course, lead to the problem that some people are going to have with Insidious 2.
I mentioned in my review of You’re Next that there’s two main types of horror. The ones that go for scares and the ones that go for laughs. And it’s very difficult to bring the two together. I thought You’re Next managed it admirably, and bringing the two together is (sort of) the route that Insidious 2 goes down as well…
Though it’s also sort of not.
Where as Insidious definitely walked on the side of scares, with a few laughs, Insidious: Chapter 2 is very much played for laughs. What James Wan and Leigh Whannell have created is a essentially a comedy, set in an authentic horror atmosphere. I know this isn’t going to be for everyone but personally, I really enjoyed the campy humour and quite frankly ludicrous reveals.
The problem is that, because of the type of film Insidious was, people are going to be expecting scares. Which isn’t unreasonable really. It’s not a problem for me, I would argue that the last 30 mins or so of Insidious were leading up to this madness anyway but… this is also being sold as an atmospheric horror, so I can understand people being confused.
I do think there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had with Insidious: Chapter 2. As far as I’m concerned, James Wan already did his spooky film this year. If you want to see a scary film directed by James Wan and starring Patrick Wilson, go see The Conjuring. That was a good solid horror played for scares.
Insidious: Chapter 2 won’t be for everyone, but if you fancy a bit of a laugh this Friday the 13th, it’s definitely worth your time.
7.5/10
No Comments