Not as good as the original but it does deliver what most fans of Wan's have come to expect.

Rating: 7/10 (17 September 2013)

'INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Horror master James Wan reteams with his usual partner in crime Leigh Whannell for this sequel to their 2011 indie spook-fest hit 'INSIDIOUS'. Wan once again directed the film and Whannell wrote the screenplay (as well as co-stars in the movie). Oren Peli (who wrote and directed another low budget scary movie blockbuster 'PARANORMAL ACTIVITY') produced the film with Jason Blum (the two also produced the first one together). Stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye and Barbara Hershey all reprise their roles from the first film. Wilson also starred in Wan's recent blockbuster 'THE CONJURING' as well. The film picks up right where the first one left off with the Lambert family still battling ghosts trying to take possession of their bodies. It's not as good as the original but it does deliver what most fans have come to expect from Wan and Whannell.
After a flashback to 1986, when Josh (Wilson) was a child (Garrett Ryan) and he first met paranormal investigators Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) and her friend Carl (Steve Coulter), the movie picks up right where the first one left off. Elise has been murdered and the police think Josh did it. Renai (Byrne) at first defends her husband but then slowly begins to question whether he's still the man she knows and loves. Have evil spirits gotten a hold of him? Only the secrets from his past can explain why the Lambert family is still haunted now. Whannell and Angus Sampson reprise their roles as paranormal investigators investigating the Lamberts' haunting.
The movie has a lot of cool scenes and scares but as a whole I found it a lot less involving (than the first film, as well as Wan's other work). It's almost too fast paced; there's way too much going on without ever slowing down to develop the characters and their emotional investment in what's happening around them. For me this made the film a lot less scary and effective. Technically it's a perfect example of the genre though (mood and atmosphere are great) and if you look at the movies as just one continuous film this movie works a lot more efficiently as just the second and third acts of a bigger story. I love Wan and Whannell's style though (and Whannell and Sampson are once again comedic scene-stealers in the film). Breaking the movie down I liked and enjoyed each scene on it's own but in the context of the whole film I just couldn't get into it like I could the first. Not a bad horror film in any way just not quite as good as I was hoping.
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