Great sequel, even if it doesn't completely live up to the first one.

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2013)

While the first "Insidious" took a much more chilling and slow way to get the scares, the sequel is a tad bit different in that sense. Don't get me wrong, "Insidious: Chapter 2" is great horror movie fare. I just feel it could've been scarier.
The sequel keeps the promise of it's title (something many movies in our time fail to even do). The movie starts off right at the end of the first one and it continues the story of the Lambert family. Things seem to be calm now, life is finally back to normal for them. However, things get weird when the noises start up again along with some violent outbursts from some unfriendly guests. Yet this isn't even the worst of their problems. One certain family member seems to be losing his mind as he mutters to himself while acting completely out of character. Is something wrong with dad?
One of the few things I had mixed feelings about in the first movie was the place called "The Further." It was definitely something of a new element compared to other recent haunted house movies, however, I just felt they didn't expand on the idea as much as they could've in the original. Happily though, they fix that in this movie. "The Further" is made as a much bigger part in this movie and the potential it has was finally used. You get to see some very interesting things (makeshift breadcrumbs for being lost, finding a world among the dead never seen before, and even answering questions you never realized you had). All in all, I was very happy with the much better use of "The Further."
Also the acting was fantastic. The actors were definitely pushed to take their characters to new places. The father becoming insane (almost "Shining" like), the wife becoming a fighter, and the son (comatose for most of the first movie) becoming the kind of "man of the house" while his father is losing it. So having great acting was definitely a nice plus. After all, how many horror movies can say they had actors who could hold your attention without any sex scenes?
Sadly, there are some negatives. Maybe I'm just biased in favor of the original in this circumstance but I feel this movie was not as chilling as the first one. The first movie was very chilling so the standards were already high but I can't help but feel disappointed. However, there were some nice scare scenes that you would not see coming as well as an intense climax that will take your breath away.
Over all, this is a very fine addition to the inevitable franchise that is to come. Usually sequels to horror movies are terrible but this one actually did very well. It might not have been as scary as the first but it made up for that with great acting, nicely written script, nice atmosphere and intense climax. Enjoy this movie while it lasts (after all, it won't be long before we have "Insidious: Book 4 Chapter 6" along with "Paranormal Activity 20").