Has big problems, but is still a positive experience.

Rating: 7/10 (5 March 2014)

I liked "Insidious" a lot. I liked the story, the visuals, and the otherworldly touches. It is one of my favorite modern horror films along with "The Ring", "1408", "Sinister" and "Conjuring". All of those movies have their share of unwarranted problems, which is a testament to how modern horror pales completely in comparison to the good old days, but I still liked those ones. I mentioned them just to give an idea of my taste, letting people know if my opinion helps them or not.
Since I didn't get a chance to see "Insidious: chapter 2" at a theater, I bought it as soon as it was released. Just finished watching it. Although it isn't nearly as solid as the first one and does disappoint in some areas, it's still a pretty good movie. Certainly nothing more, and "pretty good" might be stretching it a bit, but it's on the positive side of the scale nonetheless.
Chapter 2 takes place almost right after where "Insidious" ended. One might argue that seeing the first one isn't absolutely necessary to understand this movie, but I still recommend seeing it before watching this one.
The story surprised me a little, because at its core it's quite good. There's a new mystery, but also some history about our main characters and clever links to tie it all together, including these two films themselves. Thumbs up for the concept, because Chapter 2 feels like a part of a bigger story, not just a forced sequel - even though this sequel is most likely very, very forced and I think James Wan didn't even try to give it his best. Anyway, I liked the concept and many things are handled quite well.
Soon, it becomes clear that the strong impression doesn't last. This movie takes turns with hits and misses, and it struggles to find its comfort zone. Was this production rushed? Was James Wan too busy with "Conjuring" to really give a damn? Was the writer/actor Leigh Whannell too busy playing a funny ghost hunter to finish some parts of the script? I don't know. What I do know is that at times Chapter 2 is shoddy. For every great moment there is a stupid moment. For every interesting and fresh breath there is a cheap scare from the museum of creepy things, sounds and dolls.
The film is just not tight as a whole. Some really basic things are handled in a half-assed manner, straight from the pages of some lazy fanfiction. "We need that to happen, doesn't matter how much sense it makes" - moments made me shake my head, especially one (you'll know it when you see it). Horribly spoon-fed exposition and some parts of the dialogue made me cringe too. It seems like they had good material for 50 minutes, and then started adding stuff to it to justify the project.
Those were the problems for me. I'm not even complaining about the often-disliked comic relief, I actually welcomed that element even though it worked better in the first movie. But, even with the problems I mentioned there is some serious quality to this movie. It struggles to keep itself intact, but it's got something going for it. Perhaps it's more of a testament to the lousy state of modern horror than a compliment for this film, but this is still clearly better than your average horror movie.
The cast is the same with a few additions. Everyone does a pretty good job as usual. Danielle Bisutti was the surprising standout for me.
Visually everything looks good. The colors, the sets, the mood/scare effects, makeup, everything looks good. I preferred the slightly more macabre tone from the first one, and the designs aren't all top notch here, but nevertheless this department is a strength of this film and doesn't disappoint.
It's a little sad when a sequel with an actually good concept isn't handled carefully, because usually the substance isn't there. In this case it is, but it's an of/off-relationship. When it works it's great, then it's forgotten again. This could've been a little modern horror classic for me. It isn't even close. That said, James Wan's "Insidious: chapter 2" is still a positive experience. I usually give horror movies some slack, so take my 7/10 with a grain of salt. If you're normally not into these flicks, don't take this as a recommendation.
I hope (a motivated) James Wan returns for Chapter 3 (edit: he didn't), because otherwise we just might get a series of crappy movies with no resemblance to what originally made them good.