The Further adventures of the Lambert family.

Rating: 5/10 (2 September 2014)

After being scared s**tless by a series of spooky supernatural happenings (see Insidious: Chapter 1), Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) moves her family into her mother's house, but husband Josh (Patrick Wilson)—recently returned from the dark dimension known as The Further—isn't quite himself: his body is now host to the evil spirit of a serial killer known as The Bride in Black.
Writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan's sequel to their atmospheric horror hit Insidious offers up several expertly executed scenes guaranteed to give goosebumps (although there's nothing quite as freaky as Tiptoe Through The Tulips), but the movie as a whole simply doesn't work as well as the original, being a rather muddled affair that jumps messily from one creepy scene to another with little regard for decent storytelling.
The film frustratingly plays it fast and loose with its ghostly rules, its characters able to enter the spirit world at whim, or if they're only 'mostly dead' (as Miracle Max would say). Some dreadful attempts at humour from bumbling psychic investigators Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson) also grate on the nerves.
A cliffhanger ending leaves things wide open for the inevitable part three, but I sincerely hope that more attention is paid to the narrative next time around.