Insidious
Directed by: James Wan
One of my New Year's resolutions was to get back on track with the blog and really work towards achieving its fullest potential. Huh. I guess that kinda summarizes all the resolutions on my list. Oh..its bad. Yes, I have a list and its broken down into categories to help me organize....all of them! Then, there's some like sub categories, means to achieve these goals, and I probably need to hire a personal assistant to get anywhere near completing them all. One of the bullet points on my blog list, is stop saying, "I gotta watch that," and start watching that! So, I have been going through my watch list, which is how we arrive at Insidious.
Insidious is a seemingly rare triumph in the modern horror movies of today. Is it without it's faults? No. It did have some missteps but they quite forgivable when put into perspective with the successes of the film. Though, it breaks no new ground, I think its a sign that the Pg-13, Friday night movie, crowd may want a little more substance to their horror movies. Maybe everyone is tired of sitting through Saw 104, dreading seeing it all over again in Saw 105. James Wan, the director, did not use the same blood and guts technique he used in the Saw franchise. He was a bit more subtle this time. This was an effective and entertaining film, well most of it. The storyline is almost in homage to the well known haunted house/ ghost stories before it, such as Poltergeist and the Amityville horror. A good looking couple and their children move into a house way too large for them, soon to discover something strange is happening. They start experiencing the typical paranormal activities and then their son explores those paranormal activities and goes into a coma. Well, not really a coma, the doctor's can't explain it! *Gasp* These other worldly forces continue to terrorize them, mama in particular until she begs to move to a new house. It is there they realize, its not the house that was haunted. Then, before you can say Ghost hunters!, a team of goof ball paranormal investigators begin to check the house with their satirical ghost equipment. Fronting the team is a clairvoyant, played by LIN SHAYE! I love this lady! How cute is she? This role was just a sign that she can pull any character off! 
Remember that "well most of it" from earlier? That all starts here in the final quarter of the film. People are astral projecting too much, which is an explanation I could have accepted had it just been their son...but it runs in the family? Come on.. Daddy has to go into this other dimension to bring back his son and there's all these bad cgi ghosties everywhere. The worst moment was the reveal of the ridiculous cgi demon who had been winning the race for the boy's body. Throughout the film, this demon was much more frightening as an unseen presence, described in pictures. Ya...that thing, fully seen in the climax, kinda ruined it for me. That seems to be the major consensus, doesn't it?
Insidious did a great job in the earlier moments of the film scaring us. All the spooky things happening in the house and all the loud dissonant music freak you out. The acting is good and the filming is crisp and technical. Everything leading up to the unfortunate, over the top ending, ending was stylized fun! If you're going to build up the audience throughout the movie, hinting at and hinting at, you can't disappoint them when you finally reveal. I know there has to be some big climax but there has to be some other way. That big red demon didn't scare me.....I don't honestly know how I would have ended it but if that's the big bad, I would have preferred never to see the reveal. I admit im a sucker for ghost stories. Lots of the sub genres I loved so much before have been overwhelmed by generic shit, (zombies anyone?) but hauntings continue to scare me. Seriously! Think about it. All home are haunted in a sense. Someone has slept in my room before me, a stranger. How many people have cooked in my kitchen, looked out my window, or locked my door? Shit...all houses are haunted. I know that Insidious was nothing new to horror but I hope it does usher in a torture porn free marquee, at least for awhile. Chances are you will enjoy it, most of it. 
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