Title: Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, Barbara
Hershey, Steve Coulter
What do you mean James Wan is no longer doing horror films?
What? This guy was born for this! I was shocked to learn that Wan will not be
making horror films anymore; according to Wan himself, Insidious: Chapter 2 will be his last one. Too bad, I mean, the guy
got started thanks to the horror genre with the highly successful franchise
starter Saw (2004), a film that shocked me the first time I saw it. I remember
I immediately saw it again; with a friend of course! I wanted others to
experience that jolt to the system that the first Saw film gave me. Same with
The Conjuring (2013), a horror film that I quickly recommended to as many
people as possible, I mean, that was a great horror movie man! The Conjuring
brought 70s styles scares back! It brought the supernatural horror film back in
a good way, not in a goofy way which is what usually happens. Sometimes I go
see these supernatural films hoping to see the next The Exorcist (1973), but
end up with films like the extremely crappy Lost Souls (2000).The Conjuring has
been a huge hit for director James Wan, it’s still in theaters and so far it’s close
to reaching the 300 million dollar mark worldwide. So, hot on the heels of The Conjuring, here comes Insidious: Chapter 2. Can James Wan deliver a double
whammy of horror excellence? And why is he abandoning the horror genre?
(Above) Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) (Below) Carnival of Souls (1962)
Insidious: Chapter 2 picks up exactly where the previous
film left off, with the Lambert family recovering from the events that took
place in the first film in which Josh, the dad of the family, had an out of
body experience and actually visited the afterlife in order to find his sons
spirit, which was lingering somewhere in "the other side" or "the further" as they call it in these films. Problem
is that apparently, when Josh and his son came back, they didn’t come back alone,
an evil entity came back with them and now it haunts the
Lamberts! It's seems evil spirits just don't want to leave this family alone! What does the entity want with this family and will they ever lead
a normal life again?
James Wan is awesome as a horror director, and it’s a real pity
he doesn’t want to continue doing horror.
He says he doesn’t want to be pigeon holed into making only one type of
film. He mentions that Hollywood loves to put you in a box, and if the box they
put you in is the horror box, then that’s all you’ll ever be. But Wan wants to
break with that, he wants to do all types of films, not just horror. Which is
understandable, I mean, sure, every horror director eventually branches out and
decides to venture in other directions, even the most hardcore of horror directors
does a film that has nothing to do with horror. I mean, look at George Romero’s
Knightriders (1981), Wes Craven’s Music from the Heart (1999) or Stuart Gordon’s
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998). Hey, for further proof just look at Sam Raimi
who was at one time one of the most popular horror directors and what is he
now? He’s gone mainstream Hollywood for Christ’s sake! Horror films have always
been a breeding ground for great directors. Many of today’s best directors started
out with a horror film, just look at Oliver Stone’s The Hand (1981) if you don’t
believe me. So Wan’s move doesn’t surprise; he is currently shooting Fast and Furious
7 (2014). Of course directing a huge summer movie like Fast and Furious 7 is a
tempting thing for Wan. I mean, here’s a guy who started making independent
horror films and now he’s been given the opportunity to direct a summer
blockbuster, with a budget many times over the micro budgets he was used to working
with. Of course he’ll take the opportunity, it’s a smart move economically and
career wise, but trust me; he’ll be back! They always come back to horror! Just
look at Sam Raimi’s who returned from his horror hiatus to direct Drag Me to Hell (2009). So let’s hope that we haven’t seen the last of James Wan’s
incursions into the horror genre.
The thing about Insidious: Chapter 2 is that after seeing Dead
Silence (2007), Insidious and The Conjuring (2013), this fourth supernatural
horror film from James Wan feels just a tad repetitive. I mean, there are only
so many scenes of doors slamming by themselves that I can take before I feel
like I’m watching the same film over and over again. With Insidious: Chapter 2,
you definitely get the feeling that we’re walking on familiar ground, sadly, it
falls on repetition. Wan has a couple of things he finds scary one of them is
spooky looking dolls, which is a motif that pops up in all of his horror films,
even as far back as Saw. He also finds old ladies scary, he went over this in Dead
Silence (2007) which was about this old lady ventriloquist and again, there was
a spooky old lady ghost demon thing in Insidious (2010), and yet again in
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). So all of Wan’s supernatural horror films have a
similarity to them, they kind of feel like they exist in the same universe or
something. But my first impression with Insidious: Chapter 2 was that Wan and his writing partner Leigh Whannell
are running out of ideas. Apparenty, The Conjuring was the apex of Wan’s explorations
in supernatural horror, Insidious Chapter 2 feels like one supernatural horror
film too many. He should have taken a stab at some other type of
horror film. Don’t forget boys and girls, horror films are not composed of
supernatural horror alone.
Another element that
makes you feel Wan is walking on tired ground is that Insidious: Chapter 2
feels like a mix between The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982),
weird thing is that the same can be said for Wan’s three previous horror films,
they all draw from the same two films. Let’s see in Poltergeist characters have
to venture to the afterlife to rescue family members…in Poltergeist we got a
funny, nice old lady clairvoyant who helps the family. In Poltergeist we have
these supernatural investigator types exploring everything…the similarities are
there. Then we have the whole “dad turns evil” scenario that was so effectively
used in The Amityville Horror and The Shinning (1980), by the way, there’s a
couple of nudges to Kubrick’s classic here as well. Some moments also reminded me of Carnival of Souls (1962), especially those scenes with the ghosts and "the further". So what we have here ladies and gents is Wan and Whannell
drawing from the same movies they’ve been drawing inspiration from since the first
Insidious.
Still, even though it feels a bit repetitive, I say Insidious
Chapter 2 is not a bad horror film at all. It has some genuinely creepy moments
in it, some really well thought out scares. I gotta give it to Wan again, he
sure knows how to construct a suspense filled moment, he knows how to build that
tension. Also, there’s a cool spooky story in there to hold the whole film
together. This time around, Wan amps up the comedic relief by way of the two
paranormal investigators. The way this film ends, you kind of get the feeling
that these two geeky guys are going to branch off into their own series of
films, ala Ghostbusters (1984). I wouldn’t mind at all, I’m actually one of the
guys that’s dying to see that Ghostbusters film that doesn’t seem to want
to ever take off. The comedic relief on Insidious: Chapter 2 might be welcomed
by some as a means to release some tension, but for those of us who like our
hardcore, dreadfully dreadful horror vibe, well, these comedic elements might
feel out of place. Still, I don’t think your enjoyment of this film will be
hindered by the mild comedy. Final word: kudos to Wan for making a horror film
that creeps up on you with a mere 5 million bucks! This film is making such a
profit that it’s not even funny! Oren Peli (the films producer)sure knows the
formula for success and he’s using it: make
a quality low budget film (keword: quality) and people will back it. Not
only that, since you didn’t spend all that much, you’ll get your investment
back! It’s a win-win situation! So anyhow’s my people, Insidious Chapter 2 is a
solid piece of supernatural horror. Now if only we could all collectively
convince Wan not to “retire from horror!”
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
5 comments:
Wan definitely tried to think a bit outside the box with this sequel, but that still doesn't mean it generated any sort of scares, jumps, or thrills in the least bit. Disappointing really, considering that the sequel had some nice moments thrown in there as well. Good review Fransisco.
Yeah, following The Conjuring with this one, in comparison, The Conjuring is damn near perfect, while this one, not so much. But still enjoyable, I loved some of the spookier moments, like those with the kid in his bed...and the demon in the closet! Cool stuff!
The only thing I really didn't like about it is the ghosts with the white make up and the black lipstick...it just comes off as people with make up on their faces...it kind of cheapens the whole thing. I would've prefered some make up that made them look dead or something...but the black and white paint, I don't know, for me it wasn't a good choice.
I guess we could chalk it up to Wan paying his respects to Carnival of Souls (1962), yet another film that influenced this one. Now that I remember, someone is actually watching Carnival of Souls at one point in the film!
That old lady specter from the first movie left an indelible image on me. Really creeped me out. I hope to see this over the weekend since I missed out on CONJURING. Good write up, Fran.
Hope you get to check out The Conjuring at some point, it's superior to Insidious 2 in many ways. But in other ways, both films are extremely similar, which is why Insidious 2 felt just a tad repetitive.
Still, I hope Wan makes another horror movie at some point, I'd hate to loose his style on the genre, I mean, funny how he wants to abandon a genre that he is so good at. I guess it's all those millions he can make with movies like Fast and Furious 7.
I'd love to see him tackle a horror film that isn't about ghosts or the supernatural.
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