{"id":959,"date":"2011-04-28T18:13:18","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T18:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=959"},"modified":"2011-04-28T18:13:18","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T18:13:18","slug":"insidious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/thriller\/insidious\/","title":{"rendered":"Insidious ****"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Effective horror films these days are harder and harder to come by. But it all depends on what you want from the genre? In Insidious<\/em><\/a>, Saw<\/a><\/em><\/a><\/em> creators Wan<\/a> and Whannell<\/a> appear to have collected together all their favourite horror elements from scary classics \u2013 namely Poltergeist<\/a><\/em>, The Amityville Horror<\/a><\/em> and The Shining<\/a><\/em> \u2013 but not forgotten to add a good dose of humour, with nods to Beetlejuice<\/a><\/em> and even Ghost Busters<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s a really strange but fixating mish-mash of ghoulish behaviour, but it\u2019s also one of the most effective, jump-out-of-your-skin and hilarious creations out in recent years.<\/p>\n

At first Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne<\/a>) can\u2019t understand why things move around in her new home, or why the baby monitor starts whispering evil nothings to her. Then her adventurous son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins<\/a>), ventures up into the creepy old attic, falls off a rickety old ladder, and doesn\u2019t wake up the next morning. The doctors are baffled and so is her husband, Josh (Patrick Wilson<\/a>). They must find the reason why their child is comatosed \u2013 and quick. But they don\u2019t have too long to wait for answers when paranormal activity kicks off in the house, and someone keeps making bloody paw prints on Dalton\u2019s sheets. It seems evil spirits are trapping their kid in a realm called The Further, and they must go and rescue him before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

What starts out like a creepy Paranormal Activity<\/em><\/a> copycat \u2013 minus the videotaping \u2013 turns into a totally unpredictable other-worldly journey that not only freaks the living daylights out of you, but has you giggling like a maniac. The latter is simply down to Wan and Whannell following the golden rule of not creating a horror that takes itself too seriously, with Insidious<\/em> becoming a parody in itself. But don\u2019t think that because the film \u2018borrows\u2019 from others that you\u2019ve seen it all before because there is a nice little twist that turns proceedings into some sort of latter-day fairground or theatrical show, and gives a bizarre explanation for all the spiritual phenomenon. Hell, there\u2019s even a Spidey impression by a demon that looks suspiciously like Darth Maul.<\/p>\n

This is the key to Insidious<\/em>; keep you guessing, engaged and entertained. As horrors go, it might not be very dark in nature \u2013 even when freaky-looking Barbara Hershey<\/a> as Mom comes to visit and talks in riddles, but it knows how to set up the jumps well that still catch you off guard at times. Admittedly, there are parts that play out too long, but others are gleefully plan crazy, such as the competitive comedy double act by medium Elise Rainer\u2019s (Lin Shaye<\/a>, the wrinkly lady from There’s Something About Mary<\/a><\/em> <\/em>) ghostbusting sidekicks Specks (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson<\/a>), plus Madame Rainer\u2019s gasmask appearance that\u2019s like experiencing a weird acid trip.<\/p>\n

The film also ticks the \u2018good-looking cast\u2019 box with Wilson and Byrne in the leads, who give as good as they get in trying to protect their young family from spirits dashing from room to room, as well as violently convulsing structures. It\u2019s a family and their young boy at stake, so the outcome has got to be a happy and resolved one \u2013\u00a0or has it?<\/p>\n

Scared? You bet. Entertained? Totally. Insidious comes from accomplished filmmakers who know their genre and what presses the fear and funny buttons. This reviewer would now love to see Wan and Whannell tackle a seriously scary film based on its \u2018explanation\u2019 in question \u2013 thinking an adaptation of James Herbert\u2019s Nobody True<\/em>… Not sure about Insidious<\/em> invoking childhood fears of darkness and demonic nightmares, as some have commented, but baby monitors are definitely the scariest and most evil things ever invented.<\/p>\n

4\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Effective horror films these days are harder and harder to come by. But it all depends on what you want from the genre? In Insidious, Saw creators Wan and Whannell appear to have collected together all their favourite horror elements from scary classics \u2013 namely Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror and The Shining \u2013 but not … <\/p>\n

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