Insidious Activity

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2011)

Just before paying for my ticket to see Insidious, I heard a scream come from the woman at the ticket booth. She screamed pretty loud. Looking up to see what happened, I noticed someone scared her from behind. As I paid for my ticket, I told the woman, "I hope I scream like that when I see this movie." Of course, she laughed.
I can't say that I screamed during Insidious, but some people in the audience did. I must admit I jumped a few times, with help from a rather loud audio when the jump scare happens. There are even suspenseful moments to get your heart racing. For the first half of the movie, I knew I was in for something great.
Notice I said the "first half of the movie."
When the movie begins, it reminded me of one of those old, 1970's horror films with a scary sight, large words of the title appearing on screen, and the classic shrills from the violin as if to say "BOO!" At this point, I felt the film was trying too hard but I was giving it a chance since it just started.
Then we are introduced to the family moving in, enter Josh and Renai (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrnes) who have two boys and a baby girl. They just moved into a creepy looking house that looks right at home in Amityville, and like Paranormal Activity: strange things happen at night.
Things take a turn for the worse when their son Dalton falls into a coma and the doctors have no idea why. For three months they keep him on oxygen, and the other boy claims he walks at night. This is where they get strange visits from ghosts and the situation gets so bad, they did something the couple in the first Paranormal Activity should have done.... move. But then, things get worse, to the point where they call in a paranormal investigation team. It is there they discover what's really going on, and why Darth Maul is running around in their house.
As I said before, the first half was great. The second half gets so outlandish and weird (though still implementing some good ideas) that it took me out of the movie. Even still, it was like the film lost sight of their main characters. In the first half of the film, we see Renai is struggling to become a musician, while Josh is teaching in school. But as the film goes on, it just seems like the two of them are just going through the motions, losing track of those plot points and just focusing on the entities and that stupid story they are trying to tell. Also, besides the use of the baby monitor, I didn't get why the baby was needed in the film. It didn't help with the plot device, only to serve for a couple of scares. This may be a result of some lazy writing, and the film itself could just be going through the motions.
One last criticism that needs to be addressed and I know I am not the first one to point this out: Darth Maul. I can't help but to think that the main ghost that's causing all of this looks suspiciously like Darth Maul. I was waiting for the double lightsaber to come out. This isn't something I should be thinking about when I'm watching a horror film!
Insidious is a hit and miss. It's an enjoyable experience, but it will only be enjoyable one time. It won't have the lasting appeal as some of the better horror films out there. If anyone is thinking of going to see this one, by all means go see it. It definitely has its moments. Unfortunately those moments are a one scare wonder.