Manages a Good, Creepy Scare Here and There

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2015)

"Insidious" belongs to the modern brand of hard-sell horror movies, the ones that try to frighten with loud sound effects, jump scares, and creepy kids. It feels the need to wow us with a frenzied conclusion and a last-minute twist, as if it was tailor made to show up eventually on one of those YouTube compilations assembled by a twenty-year-old who hasn't seen any horror movie released before the year 2000.
But within that circle, "Insidious" fares better than others, like "Paranormal Activity" and "The Conjuring," two films that it brings to mind. It's competently shot and directed and manages to provide some good old-fashioned creepy suspense. The ending of the film goes off the rails in a way that I like, getting so weird and out there that it actually works.
By far the creepiest scene for me involved a little boy dancing to "Tiptoe through the Tulips." I'll never hear that song the same way again.
Grade: B