James Wan's Insidious (2010)

[rxfiend]

No, it does not feature the MTVesque editing that has plagued modern films. The camera actually lingers on the characters and situations. The editing in the film actually allows suspense to build up, and not cut away. Exact opposite of Wan's other films.

[wago70]

Nice - I will definitely check this out at the picture show!

[DVDBone]

I wasn't blown away by Insidious after seeing it in the theater on Friday night. But the more I think about it, the more I like it and realize that James Wan has created one of the best horror movies in recent years. It truly has some frightening moments and will creep out even the most jaded horror fans. I highly recommend it!

[vampyr789]

I'm seeing this on Friday! I'm pumped!

[Hatchetwarrior]

Saw it yesterday and absolutely loved it. James Wan has really come a far way as a visual artist, although a lot of the Bava/Aregento influence is still present. This film had everything most modern Hollywood horror films are lacking, creativity and quality scares. Wan did not rely on cheap jump scares, but rather subtle imagery and some really cool editing tricks. Unfortunately this will probably be the only quality horror film Hollywood will produce this year.

[Anthropophagus]

I loved it as well. Some really interesting twists on the old haunted house theme and I thought the use of darkness, especially in the context of a theatrical film experience, was brilliant. The score and use of music was perfect as well, and I thought it avoided the usual cheap jump scares in favor of genuine tension and creepiness. Lin Shaye was great in her role as well.
I have not enjoyed watching a horror film this much in quite some time. Looking forward to the dvd.

[MadmanMarz]

One of the best horror films I have seen in theaters in years. Do yourself a favor and see this with a crowd. Blows away Paranormal Activity. I like the fact how the film focused on creepy atmospheres while weaving an interesting ghost story.

[shift]

Loved it! Loved it & I Loved it!!

Did I say I loved it?

Once this bad boy hits Blu-Ray it is mine!!!!!!!

[Workshed]

I saw this on Saturday night, and during the first 20 minutes I thought for sure I'd found a new haunted house gem. My date's eyes were closed, I was jumpy, the crowd was silent, and then...

And then male lead's mother showed up

Spoiler: to validate the wife's claims, thereby negating any "Is she crazy?" questions about the wife.

From there, it went downhill, especially when the ghostbusters appeared and shifted the tone of the film from serious spookfest to ad-lib comedy hour at the Jokebox. The crowd didn't know what to do, and neither did we.

"What just happened," my date asked. "Are these guys in the same movie?"

Guess so. And then the psychic matriarch waltzed in and it all fell apart.

Spoiler: Astral projection: it's presented as if it leads to a Super Happy Fun Place, but it can lead to "The Further" if explored for too long. Well, where was all the fun stuff? All we see is Dark Mistyland filled with creeps. Why would any kid want to explore this?

The acting grew exceptionally hammy and the props were distracting - the gas masks? - to the point of crowd uproar. Our theater was laughing and howling at this point. When the father had his "moment" in his son's bedroom and, what, finally looked at the drawings hung up on the wall? Now that's attentive parenting!

Great parenting all around, in fact. When the lead's mother shows him

Spoiler: the pictures of his youth with a veiled monster behind him in EVERY SHOT, and she says she thought it was a camera malfunction... .

The ending:

Spoiler: what, the son was completely unaware that his father's astral self had been abducted at the last minute while he was holding his son?

<insert stock horror ending here>

I don't understand why the film changed as much as it did, because it really had a good thing going. Too many characters showed up to

Spoiler: validate the wife's hysterics, and when that happens, the film better create a believable, threatening villain. It never did, unfortunately.

[deepred]

I agree, workshed. I thought everything that made it great in the beginning was lost in the end.

The end kind of reminded me of Wes Craven's New Nightmare when Langenkamp goes to hell to save Dylan from Freddy.

And the scene where Lin Shaye explains about astral projection seemed to be lazily ripped out of Poltergeist's script with a few changes to avoid a lawsuit. Meh ...

[aoiookami]

I second Workshed's review, to a T. I was digging the first half hour, everything was great. The mysterious red-faced figure was legitimately freaky. Then around the halfway point, when Bevis and Butthead show up out of nowhere, and the movie suddenly turns into a horror-comedy I was left dumbfounded. Everything became hammy, overly dramatic and laughable. From the cheesy made-for-tv sets of the 'Further' to the silly cartoon-like expressions of the spirits, to the now-fully-revealed and totally goofy looking red-faced figure. Oi, what a letdown. Surprised this cheese fest is getting so much appreciation..

[shape22]

I completely agree with those who think the last 30 minutes aren't on par with the rest of the film. Less is always more when it comes to the supernatural. But Wan isn't the first director to cave to audience expectations in the final reels.

If you're thinking about seeing this, you really should. The first hour or so is tremendously well done. And there are some legitimately great shock scenes along the way. I've seen too many horror films to get really frightened. But Insidious was creepy enough to get under my skin. Several images have really stuck with me--especially the figure at the window.

[likesshinything]

HALF-SPOILERS APPROACHING!!

Fresh from seeing this movie and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. Certainly not spectacular, especially given the large quantity of jump scares, but for the first time in years I found myself genuinely terrified at three particular moments....which is three more than have scared me in any other horror film since two years (and I watch most horror films I can get my hands on).

Albeit misplaced, I admit I loved the comic relief 'horse and pony show'. Lin Shaye's character however... not so much. The script she had to work with was IMO beyond laughable. Loved the music. The old hag is the stuff that nightmares are made of. Loved the red faced demon and especially how in his lair his character suddenly went from utterly terrifying to downright CRAZY. I'll never be able to look at Tiny Tim in the same way again. A nod to Sam Raimi no doubt and for me this worked, absolutely.

Where I felt the film went rapdily downhill was when the dad and the demon have their little interaction. The words 'anti climatic' just don't do it justice. I honestly cannot fathom what was going on in Whannel and Wan's heads at the time of putting that part together, other than "uugghhh, we've reeeeeally dug ourselves into a hole with this scary maniac demon character and there's nothing we can do except...uuurrrhhh...hey! How about make him kinda lame all of a sudden! That'll work!" Sorry but my suspension of disbelief couldn't stretch that far. Unless they make a sequel featuring the demon back on fighting form and more pissed off than the three headed dog of Hades after someone stole his squeaky chewy bright coloured ball, I'd call his character wasted potential. It just got worse and worse after that, and the ending itself, although successfully creepy, was nevertheless visible a mile off. Again, I'm holding out for a sequel if only to clear up the mess that was the third act.

All in all however I enjoyed it more than I disliked it. For a $1million made movie, I'd say it's quite impressive. And sure it's derrivative in numerable ways, but aren't most things? I'd give it 7 out of 10.

[Anthropophagus]

DVD coming on July 12th, for those interested.

[Ash28M]

Just looking through this thread the positive reviews outweigh the negative 16-3 and the 3 people who didn't like it, still enjoyed the first half.