Great Movie, Watch With a Friend

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2011)

I'd advise any prospective watchers to stop reading reviews, dim the lights, and buy this movie with no further questions. You may not want to watch it alone, however.
Insidious was an excellent movie, and from many angles - at first, it was actually heartwarming, which builds your emotional investment in the family. They're a small family, and they have their issues, but they're looking up and things are getting better. Quickly, however, things start going wrong, and the scares are more disturbing than anything - gore is never used, and blood only in minor ways. This movie uses suspense, mostly, as a scare tactic. One thing that stood out to me was the nature of the ghosts themselves - I don't want to ruin anything, but the ghosts seem unusually tangible for a horror film. They're absolutely solid, as in, they're not translucent or vague in any way, and one of the most stressful (for lack of a better word) aspects for me was how they had a tendency to remain on-camera occasionally, rather than popping in and out for shock value. To wrap this up, Insidious was also a funny movie at times, but without trivializing the dark and dramatic nature of the story. And it was certainly scary.
As for that, the scariness, that's definitely why I added "Watch With a Friend" to the title. I'm not exactly easily scared by horror movies, even though I sometimes wish I were, but this one's truly different. I know that sounds corny, but really- it's true. This is one of those movies that will have you checking corners like a SWAT team come night. Actually, when the movie wrapped up I thought I was fine. It wasn't until I diverted my eyes from the screen and realized that I was in the middle of a big, dark room with numerous open closet doors and hallways and corners all alone that I started to panic. So, seriously, it may be a good idea not to watch this alone, unless you like that trickling panic that sets in and makes you damn near hallucinate. Just a warning, take it or leave it.