The Further

Rating: 6/10 (22 September 2013)

Greetings again from the darkness. This is a perfect example of why it's acceptable for writing standards to be lowered for horror films. This isn't science fiction or history. We are in the theatre for one simple reason ... we want to be frightened (to jump in our seats). Two years after the first Insidious, director and co-writer James Wan, screenwriter Leigh Whannell and producer Oren Peli, re-team for this sequel. It's also just a few months after Mr. Wan's very successful and well-made The Conjuring.
I enjoyed the first one because there was a nice story that borrowed a bit from Poltergeist and some other horror classics. In a rare treat, Wan and Whannel actually tie in the sequel to the story from the first. Sure, some of it is a stretch with all of the parallel dimensions and multiple entities, but for the most part, it works and provides some nice thrills and chills.
An especially nice surprise is the creative return of Lin Shaye as Elise, who stole all her scenes in the first entry. While the voice over of her "younger" scenes was distracting, her screen presence helps hold the final act together. Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins and Barbara Hershey are back as the family Lambert ... and this time we get more backstory on why the family seems unable to escape the demons.
Wan, Whannell and Peli have done a very nice job of rejuvenating the horror genre, while still including the traditional fun of active closets, abandoned hospitals, creaky doors and musty basements. A certain amount of suspension of disbelief is required, but if you are looking for some scary fun, you could do much worse than the two Insidious films.