Flawed but scary

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2011)

The haunted house genre of horror seems to be making a comeback in recent years. I wouldn't call Insidious a breath of fresh air, but it is certainly a fun addition to the genre. The film teams up director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell once again for a horrifically electrifying film. It tells the story of a family who has just moved to a new house in the country. Shortly after moving there, their son Dalton has an accident that puts him into a comatose like state. It isn't specifically a coma, but the doctors can't discern what exactly the state the boy is in is. The family quickly learns that it has a lot to do with the supernatural as strange noises erupt throughout the house and Dalton's mother starts seeing ghosts. Eventually they learn that Dalton is the one who is being haunted, not the house. And so begins a harrowing effort to cast out the evil spirits which have befallen Dalton before its too late.
Insidious has all the chills and frights you would expect from a great ghost story, and it presents these spine tinglers in unique fashions that legitimately frighten and disturb. You'll find some intensely frightening images within this film that are sure to haunt the dreams of the weak minded. There are some disturbing things in here which are hard to shake, and make this film a sadistically fun ride. I really do have to give all the props I can to how scary this film is. I wouldn't call it the most terrifying film I've ever seen, but Insidious knows how to be scary and how to frighten us the most. It isn't the kind of scary that messes with your mind and disturbs you for a long period of time, but it is the kind of scary that makes the film nerve racking to watch, but in the most fun way possible.
As far as the real substance, the real story of Insidious it is fairly tailor made to be a basic haunted house film. It throws in the twist of the boy being haunted rather than the house, but all the same principles apply. The family moves to a new house, strange things start to happen, things get so terrifying that a "specialist" is called in to perform some sort of exorcism on whatever is being haunted. Insidious is even complete with the two comic relief goofball exorcist assistants who come to the house to perform tests and make sure there actually is a supernatural presence.
It is these kinds of flaws that I attribute to lazy screen writing from writer Leigh Whannell. This gentleman is also what kept Saw from being a phenomenal film. His dialogue is very poor and he isn't the best at properly structuring a story and creating believable characters. His writing has certainly improved since 2004, but not enough to make Insidious an outstanding film. He takes the easy way out of writing a haunted house flick, simply going through the motions and not presenting anything substantially original. None of the characters are particularly memorable, except for maybe the exorcist, played by Lin Shane. The story is littered with irrational decisions that only serve the purpose of moving the story along, as well as Hollywood conveniences that don't make a lot of realistic sense, but make for some exciting visuals.
But if you put some logic aside and take some of the craziness for granted, Insidious is a very fun film. It is legitimately scary and disturbingly exciting. For a story that doesn't deviate much from the original, it still works in making Insidious an engaging watch from beginning to end. The film's far from perfect, but it's not a total disaster either.