Above average

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2011)

I went to see Insidious on the back of the released stills of the movie which showed promise - I have usually been let down, this time I wasn't. I really enjoyed it. It also succeeded in making the audience cower in their seats, making girlfriends cling onto boyfriends arms, nervous laughter after the scares and most importantly having the ability to stay with you long after it has finished.
Insidious plot is standard with a little twist. Man and wife with young family move into haunted house (you think) slamming doors, voices, strange faces its all here. Toss in the psychic woman, the gadgets to capture changes in temperature and you have the usual set pieces. Influences are very obvious but never directly copied as Insidious definitely makes its own stamp in the haunted house movie genre.
What can also normally disappoint me in some of these ghost films is the ghosts are never shown enough, here they are and although some of the ghosts miss the mark, there are some genuinely frightening moments. It also manages to keep interest as it switches from a creepy movie to almost a monster movie for me it did lose its tense edge when this happened but at least it never got boring.
For gore hounds and torture porn horror fans this is not for you - it is more poltergeist, the fog and the Shining than Saw or Hostel. As a big horror fan myself I would recommend it as a fun scary ride.