Insidious: Chapter 2 is scary, but isn't James Wan's best.

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2013)

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Staring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey, Steve Coulter, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell.
Directed by: James Wan
Insidious: Chapter 2 takes place a short time after the incidents in the first film. Josh Lambert gets his son back from "The Further", a world full of ghosts and dark forces. Josh, however, starts acting weird and evil forces start to terrorize the family again. This time, there are a lot more twists and turns.
The opening scene explains some more information of Josh's origins with the afterlife when he was a child, and things start to make more sense as the film goes along. The origins of the black veld bride are explained and you start to feel that the family is in danger as they try to solve the mystery to stop the haunting.
The films scares are effective. The film has a "haunted house" feel to it, which is an aspect I love about horror movies. There are a few cheap jump scares, but the scares are mostly due to the intensity of the story. The tone of Insidious 2 is different from the first Insidious. The first insidious, while suspenseful, took time to ease you into the story, while Insidious 2 got right in your face from the get-go. The first Insidious was more about the family and the quest to get their son back, Insidious 2 is more about the afterlife and the origins behind the reasoning of the haunting. As things start to unravel, you feel more on the edge of your seat. You really start to feel that everybody is in danger.
The whole movie plays out very well, but I felt the final act to be somewhat disappointing, and at points, comical. It had a bit of a "Shining" feel to it. I won't give it away, as the ending is the most important part of the film. Although, the twists were very well done. As you watch the film, you can't help but give a "oh, that makes sense" reaction.
Patrick Wilson plays a more "sinister" Josh Lambert. I'm starting to become a fan of Patrick Wilson, who was also in James Wan's 'The Conjuring'. I enjoy his calming presence to the roles he's played in James Wan's films. He abandons his calming roots, and goes into a more angry character. He brought a lot of suspense to his scenes and, at times, made you hate him a little. I enjoyed the choice to give the afterlife more of a back story, and while some may find the origins a little comical, I find it to be quite haunting. Although, at times, the film seems a little too busy, jumping from story to story, making you feel a little lost as to what is happening.
This is said to be James Wan's last horror film, which gives me a very bittersweet feeling. The guy is a great horror director, but it's great that he wants to branch out and do more things. To me, Insidious 2 is my least favourite from him, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It was a great continuation from the original, but after seeing The Conjuring, I know the man is capable of doing more than this. The film, sometimes, relies on cheap jump scares, which takes the affect away from the story being told. I've never felt that was the way James Wan wanted his horror movies to be portrayed. He is a great story telling, and doesn't need to rely on jump scares to be scary. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more from him in different genres.
Grade: B