This film was one that I honestly thought was going to be genuine...

Rating: 2/10 (3 August 2012)

I am a fan of all types of movies, especially very good ones. When I decided to check this one out I read quite a lot of reviews on this site about it beforehand and the majority was how frightening it was. Everybody not only said it was good but that it was the scariest film they had ever seen. To be fair the poster artwork is pristine, whoever was responsible for the poster definitely did a brilliant job. The boy standing in front of the house with the red shirt and demonic eyes looks amazing.
I put the movie in, started playing it, and seriously prepared myself.
I am not going to dump on anyone else's review. This will be straight forward.
The small portable intercom that conveniently picks up audio from another area has been done before people: instead of aliens it's a demon (Signs).
The woman being a piano player in general has been done before also: instead of a haunted house it's a haunted boy (The Orphanage).
And, oh yes, oh yes...the premise of a child being abducted by evil spirits that ultimately encompasses one of the parents having to cross the boundaries into the other world to rescue them, in case you forgot or are not aware, was already thoroughly covered in a spectacular 1982 Steven Spielberg film called Poltergeist: instead of a little girl it's a little boy. They even managed to steal the idea of the outside help who enter and examine their spooky home. Two men and one woman. Exactly the same scenario. Except that in Poltergeist the three characters delivered intelligent lines and dynamite performances; in Insidious their lines are incredibly flat and their acting, particularly the two guys, could rival any performance from a Japanese Godzilla film.
Now aside from the fact that this movie rips off from everything in sight, I'll focus on the level of the scare meter. The scares are equal to a fairgrounds haunted house. They involve a character dressed in very cheap makeup to go RRRAAARRR!!! right after the Director yells action; and then of course adding in post production a loud piece of music. That's silly filmmaking.
I have never said the following words in my whole life, but I mean this.........the poster art is misleading. It's so misleading in fact that the poster is more interesting to look at than watching this entire film.
I only mentioned a few films that this silly movie steals from but there is actually more.
If the storyline had some originality to it and the whole project was more respectfully constructed this could have been a memorable trip.
Every OTHER movie I mention here I highly recommend. Signs, The Orphanage, Poltergeist and of course The Exorcist are all excellent. Insidious is cartoon scares and dull thrills.
The following is a MASSIVE spoiler: The little boy. Even though you're expecting him to frighten the living hell out of you...he does absolutely nothing?! Reagan in The Exorcist lives up to all the hype, watch that instead.
I also want to say one more thing, if you open the "trivia" page on this site you'll see that the writer stated at a film festival that he wanted to avoid any movie clichés. I personally found that information to be shockingly hilarious. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check out the trivia first...then check the film out. If you're a regular movie goer who knows a ripoff when you see one then the trivia will have you rolling on the floor in laughter!