Refreshingly Good Horror Sequel

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2013)

We all know the score, a brand new original horror idea is a big hit and they capitalize on this with a shoddy poorly-written badly-acted remake with a only marginal relation to the first film... Or so we thought! Insidious: Chapter 2 completely breaks this trend, making it without doubt one of the best horror sequels in recent memory - especially for one which was unplanned! So lets focus on the good: for many the only real problem with the first was the predictable ending that left us wanting more. Whereas, although leaving us with the possibility of a third instalment, was somewhat more conclusive. Secondly, which is very unique for a horror sequel, is that it is acted by all of the original cast, which is a huge bonus for many! Added to that, the colour imagery (red lighting on the baby's crib, blackened setting for the world of the dead) and old-school horror soundtrack all added to the overall feel. Furthermore, what Insidious does well is integrate moments of suspense and full on horror into what is a detailed and well-thought-out creepy story, instead of just having someone shout out "boo!" every 5 minutes to make up for a lack of story. Now the few small gripes that I had: First off the child-acting can be pretty poor at times, but hey that's usually the case in most films. Secondly, a well-known theme of the Insidious franchise is that when a dead soul enters a living body, the body becomes weak and begins to die. However, without spoiling anything, there are a few scenes where one of these dying bodies manages to fight off several fully-grown men and take various blows to the head with weaponry, without so much as falling down. But hey, again it's just a small detail and certainly not the first film to exaggerate the capabilities of the human body. So yeah, overall a very good horror film in its own right, but it acts even better as a sequel to an already well-established horror film. Definitely worth a watch.