The good outweighs the bad

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2016)

"Insidious" is an American 110-minute movie from 6 years ago. It was fairly successful in terms of awards, box office and critics, so that it should not come as a surprise that several sequels have been made already. The director is James Wan ("Saw") and the writer is his longtime collaborator Leigh Whannell. I personally thought this film had ups and downs. I am a fan of horror films that have an unknown danger attached to them (like the Blair Witch) and this one does as well, which I liked. After a supernatural encounter at the attic, a boy falls into a coma and the rest of the film is about the parents trying to find out how to help him, all in the process of dealing with more and more supernatural forces coming to the house where they live in.
What I did not like about the film was the sound work. Good sound effects are crucial for a film in carrying a story as well as elevating the material sometimes. But here it is the opposite. Obviously the sound technicians wanted to make sure they get recognized as the volume is so over the top compared to the people talking. Some audience members may like it, but for me it does not elevate the scare factor, but just becomes really annoying. Apart from that, the sequence with the dad in the parallel world was not really necessary and I did not find it as memorable as others perhaps. All in all, Wan and the cast made a good job by channeling aspects and performances that have worked well in horror in the past and even if they brought nothing really new to the genre, they still did a decent job. I would not say that (despite the cliffhanger ending) I am too curious about the sequels, but this first film is worth watching. I recommend it.