Not As Effective as the First But Enjoyable

Rating: Null/10 (10 October 2013)

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
The Lambert family tries to move on from the events in the previous film but it doesn't take long for them to realize that something from Josh's childhood is still haunting them. To me INSIDIOUS was one of the best horror movies in recent years thanks in large part to how downright creepy and effective it was. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 isn't nearly as successful in the scare department but it has an incredibly interesting structure that makes it worth viewing. I thought the actual story structure was the best thing going for this film as we pretty much have it starting up after the events of the first film. Instead of the story taking weeks or months for the hauntings to start, they happen right off the bat and within the matter of hours once the story continuation starts. I really liked how the story then split off into two with one group of characters dealing with one thing while the other group deals with the investigation as to what's going on. The way director James Wan went back and forth between these two sides was entertaining and certainly grabbed your attention. What didn't work in between these two sides was some extremely bad comic relief, which just stopped the film in its tracks every time it happened. As I said earlier, I really didn't find this film scary at all so compared to the original it falls well short. There were a few good moments where the atmosphere level was quite high but it still fell well short of being a classic. The performances were all extremely good with Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins and Lin Shaye in fine form. Barbara Hershey is also good here. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 takes its time in telling its story but this here is actually another plus. While far from perfect the film manages to be entertaining.