Scare-less but syncs in with the first!

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2013)

Horror as a genre, often ends up not keeping the promises they make. While there are classics and modern flicks that scares the bejesus outta you, there are also those which doesn't always click. And I can mention a lot more of those than the ones that's actually scary. Then there are of course horror movies that actually work for one and not the other coz, I believe, we all have varied scare-tolerances. I for myself can handle 'gore' like piece of cake but can't stand twitchy supernatural beings. Frankly, the found footage horror movies has ruined the genre to some degree. How many Paranormal Activity sequels can you watch until you get bored of scaring yourself with flying frying pans. When the said genre was imbued with those horror movie dingus, James Wan, went the old school way with 2010′s Insidious. Insidious had everything in store for horror fanatics. It was atmospheric and Wan not resorting to monster closets and cliché's were a welcome change. While the movie did have its flaws, it still stood out among the hosh-posh horror movies. I have fond memories of watching Insidious at the dead of the night with my headphones on and boy, I was freaked outta my wits, at least for the first two acts. Agreed James Wan is a man of many talents, having directed blockbusters in almost every genre as evident from movies like Saw and Insidious to Death Sentence and the upcoming Fast & Furious 7 but when it came to The Conjuring I could agree less with the majority who praised it sky high. The Conjuring was a well directed piece, adorned with brilliant performances but it was anything but scary.
Insidious Chapter 2 starts off where the first left off. The Lambert family was still not completely clear of the malice from part one and without spoiling much its assured that there was plenty much more in store for them. While Insidious was all about astral projections, this ones more about the ones that passed through the portal. Initially it was all but slow, but when it got to the second act it got more interesting at the cost of dropping the atmospheric quality the first had. There was a huge tonal shift. The movie took a fine take at continuing the Insidious myth and seamlessly ties in with the first's story filling whatever gaping holes it had. If you wanna be in sync with whats happening in Chapter 2 you ought watch Chapter one. Watching Insidious is mandatory, nuff said. But scares-wise the movie lacked, almost as much as The Conjuring. And it also had some odd comedy injected. For a story arc that was so serious, the comedy felt distracting. The performances of the cast were splendid, especially of Rose Bryne as Renai Lambert, her helplessness was direly felt. Patrick Wilson's characters were also noteworthy and you'll know why I mentioned 'characters' when you watch it. Lin Shaye's Elise was a remarkable performance as well.
Ending on an ambiguous note, Insidious Chapter 2 leaves a lot of scope for sequels. For one, I really missed the Red-face demon from the first, who was nowhere to be seen or heard in Chapter 2. James Wan made 2 horror movies this year, The Conjuring was a fairly entertaining movie (had it not been so hyped) and in Insidious Chapter 2, he was not reluctant to play with its myth expanding its own universe. I cant wait to see what he's going to do with the now-humdrum Fast & Furious franchise next year.