does this stand up to the original or is it a convoluted mess?

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2015)

The original insidious is a modern masterpiece in the horror genre. While its technicals can be rooted back to other movies- it is still an impressive work that shouldn't be missed by any horror fan. Now a a sequel would be hard work- but this movie came out a few months after the conjuring- a film even scarier than the first insidious that is just as good if not better. Now I'm not going into the technicals of those films because I want to talk about this film. But it is impossible not to at least get an idea of those films before talking about this. So Insidious chapter 2 actually starts with a flashback to Josh's problems being diagnosed by Elise before it picks up immediately where the original left off. Now the story here is the biggest part of the movie- but I can't go too deep without giving spoilers. But as it is it actually mostly works. A common complaint against this movie is that it's confusing and convoluted- and I am going to admit there are scenes that are like this, but the story as a whole does make sense. The story is for sure on a larger scale than the original but that's not a bad thing. It also follows the only route it could have taken after the ending of the original. Actually in a lot of respects thanks to the story this actually is almost better than the original. But as I said there are still problems and yes they do hold this movie down. There are a few scenes, and events that don't make sense, and since this movie is about finding answers it really hurts when a few important points simply don't get explained. If I can I may do a second review where I go into these details but as of now I don't think I'm ready to explain something like that. Anyways, there is one other problem- and that this film attempts to add comedy through the spec characters. I don't even know why comedy was written into this movie- and it is VERY out of place when it happens (well there is one funny line but it's at the end and isn't even delivered by either spec). I wound up choosing to ignore this part of the movie, but I know other people won't be able to. Now the horror scenes in the movie are on par with the original (there are some jump scare Esq scenes, but the movie doesn't rely on them). Some of the imagery is actually really creepy and fits nicely. Not only that the performances are also really good- especially Patrick Wilson, who really showcases a lot of talent here. Overall this movie mostly works but gets stuck on some roadblocks it could have easily avoided. I feel I can't do this movie's successes and failings without spoiling anything. So I guess the best thing to do is watch this movie for yourself and make your own judgments.