A huge disappointment after The Conjuring

Rating: 1/10 (10 December 2013)

Having seen the excellent, instant horror classic The Conjuring a few months ago I was looking forward to seeing James Wan's latest film. With that film, he seemed to tap into all of the classic shots and grades of truly disturbing horror movies, imbuing them with a timeless style that works beautifully. So I hoped for more of the same with Insidious 2.
Unfortunately, this movie is just riddled with problems. It's hard to know where to start.
The most atmosphere destroying aspect of the film is the comedy relief duo, including someone who wears glasses named "Specs. It's difficult to understate how bad these guys are - they have no place in the film and apart from some unsubtle, sometimes slapstick humour, they bring nothing to the table at all. They look like American versions of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, which presumably was who they are supposed to be based on (ala Shaun of the Dead). This genre mashing does not work at all for what is for all intents and purposes a "proper" horror movie.
While the film starts off relatively confidently (The old guy's acting leaves a lot to be desired in the first scene, and is the first clue that this is not going to be a great film), things deteriorate quite quickly, and while some scenes and sets are "just right", just as many feel very fake and the camera work and grading feels borderline amateur. It's surprising given the quality of Wan's other work but it feels like the producers have insisted on certain scenes/moments being delivered before they are really ready to go.
The whole thing is full of plot holes and although the third act attempts to explain some mysteries from earlier in the film, for the most part there are far more moments that are ignored and make no sense at all.
This is a terrible film. If I was James Wan I'd be embarrassed to have my name attached to it. I've been amazed at how consistently positive reviews have been and can only assume they are partly generated by studio shills as they are so far off the mark with their high praise. It is comically bad in places and certainly not the horror thrill ride Wan delivered in The Conjuring. Avoid.