Insidious DVD Review

Insidious
Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Studio: Film District
Release Date: July 12, 2011
ASIN: B004LWZW24
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

I love the horror films from the 1980s, but Hollywood has replaced them with mindless PG-13 kiddy movies that claim to be scarier, when I actually think the directors or screenwriters were either high during filming or they just lack a single ounce of creativity. I have purposely ignored most recent horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity which was rated R, though I did watch Mama on HBO last week. To me there is too much CGI and not enough real scares. Insidious: Chapter 2 was released to theaters in September and has become a box-office success. Of course I have never seen the first movie before that is until I ran across the DVD in the five dollar bin at Walmart and I thought I would see what the hype is all about.

Insidious has Josh and Renai Lambert (played by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) and their three children moving into a new home. Their son Dalton sneaks into the attic to investigate some strange noises he heard. He attempts to climb a ladder to turn on the attic light, but he falls. His parents rush to his aid and inform him to stay out of the attic. The following morning, Josh and Renai find Dalton asleep in his bed and he won't wake up. He is in a coma!

After spending three months in the hospital, Dalton returns home, but he is still in a coma state. Bizarre occurrences begin to happen, like strange voices over the baby monitor, a bloody hand-print on Dalton's bed and a strange male figure in the baby's room.

Believing the house may be haunted, the Lamberts move again, but the supernatural occurrences follow them. They have no other choice, but to let a group of paranormal investigators into their home, only to learn there are no ghosts haunting the house. It seems Dalton has the ability to astral project when he is asleep and he has become lost in the land known as "The Further." To make matters worse, there is a demon wanting to take over Dalton's body.

At first glance, Insidious looks like another haunted house story, but the plot takes a twisted turn into the world of astral projection. Like I said, I'm not into the recent madness of PG-13 horror films, but with the director of the original Saw and the underrated Dead Silence, I gave the film a try. With a dark atmosphere and a talented cast, Insidious is better than I expected, but it is not the "Most Terrifying Film since The Exorcist" as one critic said. In my opinion, the film is predictable and jumps around too much. Plus, I saw the cliffhanger ending a mile away. The premise is interesting, but the screenplay is lacking, almost as if a rough draft was used. Overall, Insidious is a typical, forgettable PG-13 horror film.