The Insidious franchise is one I have no real connection to having only seen the first two. The first film I watched of my own choice as I had heard good things about it, and I remember enjoying it but was not wowed enough to return for sequels. I did, however, watch Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) after a girl I was speaking to on Tinder had recommended it. After watching the film, I knew that it would have never worked with her as she praised the film far more than I was willing to, but that’s another story for another time. Despite this I still held some degree of liking toward Insidious (2010) and so when it came time to choose a film to review I thought it would be a good time to return, mainly due to the fact I am currently writing this on a time crunch and as I have seen the film before I don't mind writing and reviewing the film at the same time. The film follows the Lambert family who have just moved in to a new home and are stressed due to the move and the young family they are raising at the same time. Shortly after moving in their son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins) is involved in a mysterious incident in the attic and falls in to a coma the day after. His symptoms befuddle doctors and it soon becomes clear that his condition may not be purely medical, and paranormal activity soon starts to happen. The family then investigates ways of exorcising their house and find out secrets of their past in the process.
One thing I can appreciate about this film is that it doesn't fuck around when it comes to the scares. It takes the first twenty minutes to set up the characters and the setting and then just jumps right into it. No messing around, no unnecessary build up or spouting of exposition, just jumping directly into the scary moments. It’s not something a lot of horror films do, with many taking too much time to build a world that ultimately doesn’t matter and so I appreciate it. Does it make the characters memorable or good No, but I don't believe this was the intention. The characters in the film seem to be there specifically to create scenarios for scares rather than being actual characters. Now this isn't to say that the characters aren't well acted either. Patrick Wilson who plays Josh Lambert and Rose Byrne who plays Renai Lambert are both good and have a decent amount of chemistry. Lin Shaye is good as Elise Rainier, the paranormal expert who becomes the pseudo hero of the film. No one is exceptional, and the child actors are less than good, but everyone does well enough for the popcorn type horror film they are in. There is no need for anyone to be on their A game, and no one is, but they all do a good enough job. The best bit of the film is the opening credits, which has a score very reminiscent of that of The Shining (1980) (which if you didn't know is the best thing you could be compared to) and has imagery that is genuinely creepy. Unfortunately, the scares only really get weaker from this point on.
The film is very much your standard, 21st century horror movie fare. Cheap jump scares, loud noises and sudden imagery all designed to make you jump rather than fill you with dread. What makes this film stand out against most horror films of this type is the genuinely interesting and creative premise it sets up for itself, along with the pretty decent directing of James Wan. The film is slickly directed and competently shot, and also has some pretty cool and creative imagery, but unfortunately the scares do not live up to the standard of directing and feel like thy belong in a much worse and cheaper horror film. It gets to a point where several scares that are created end up being funnier than they are scary as Wan seemed to want to take the scares up a notch and be creative but in doing so made the film super silly. The scene where they have a seance ends up being really stupid which makes it just become really funny. However, I can't say it’s not entertaining, even if it’s not in the way Wan had intended. None of these areas of the film particularly irk me, but there are two areas which do, the soundtrack and the colour pallet. Although I praised the soundtrack in the credits, but Jesus is it bad throughout the rest of the film. It is so cliché and so set up to make the audience jump rather than being an actually good score and it is a genuinely bad part of an otherwise okay film. The colour pallet is another problem I have with the film. The contrast is so sharp that the film looks like it is almost in black and white. It does this after Dalton goes into his coma and is done so as to represent the darkness that this event has put over the family, but it also makes the film look really ugly. However, this seems to be personal preference as my mum disagreed with me and said that she actually enjoyed the colour pallet, but for me it gives the film an overall look of just, ugh. I think that is literally the best way I can describe it. Ugh.
Insidious is a fine popcorn horror flick. Its popularity is a bit of a mystery to me, but I feel like that comes from the fact that it has a different and new premise that is intriguing which sets it apart from many other horror films of this type. At the same time, when you boil it down Insidious is just a jump scare fest but one that is directed well and has obvious care and creativity behind it. Is it the type of horror film I love? No, not even close, but it is a fine piece of entertainment and I don't begrudge anyone for loving this film as there is a lot here to like. The best thing to come out of this film is, of course, the Darth Maul demon. When this first came out I remember this being one of the main things people mentioned about the film, and it is the image I remembered after my first viewing, and as I huge Star Wars nut I kind of have to recommend it simply due to that. But in all seriousness if you are looking for a film to watch with a group of friends this Halloween that you can just throw on and don't really have to pay all that close attention to this is a prefect film for that, but if you're looking for a genuinely horrific experience this may not be the one.