Insidious [2]: Chapter 2 (2013) [Blu-ray]
Horror | Thriller

How deep into the darkness will you go to discover the truth? The terrifying sequel to Insidious follows the haunted Lambert family as they seek to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. They must rely on familiar allies to exile the demons that follow them and unearth the secret before the evil continues its deadly rampage. Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey reprise their roles in the film directed by James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring).

Storyline: The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on December 24, 2013 -- "PG-13 Horror" may be the most terrifying combination of letters and numbers in all of cinema. Rather than hardcore gore or truly frightening themes, PG-13 Horror movies more often than not rely on jump scares, big and sudden musical cues, and other tired elements to "terrify" audiences. Insidious: Chapter 2 is no exception. It's better than most of its kind, saved by a decent atmosphere, the return of characters from the original (and much better) movie, and a few good, albeit needlessly convoluted, ideas sprinkled into its second half. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie proves a rather tired, exhausting slog through classic, and overused, tame scare tactics meant to jolt the audience, not raise hairs and make the soul quiver in the manner of classic horror. It's difficult to recapture the magic of a rather good Horror movie in its sequel. Director James Wan and Writer Leigh Whannell, returning to duty from the first, flirt with excellence, at times, but cannot help but rely far too much on the safety net of overused cliché, even as it's intermixed with the series' good story and well-developed characters.

Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson), his wife Renai (Rose Byrne), and their children have left their old house and moved in with Josh's mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey). Josh is the prime suspect in a death, but that will soon become the least of the Lambert family's concerns. Before the family has even settled into its new abode, Renai begins experiencing classic paranormal activity. She hears mysterious sounds and witnesses electronic objects turning themselves on. Josh fruitlessly attempts to reassure her. Instead of ignoring the problem and trusting that Josh is right, she brings in paranormal experts Carl (Steve Coulter), Specs (Writer Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson) to help her sort through the terror. Their investigation unearths disturbing truths about the family's history and the danger it faces today across two very different dimensions.

Below is a written journey through the tone-setting first ten minutes of Insidious: Chapter 2:

That's fourteen ways in fifteen moments that Insidious: Chapter 2 annoys with an overload of cliché in its opening minutes. To be fair, the movie comes back full circle later and explains some of it away, and the explanation is fine and works in the plot and the established Insidious universe. Yet when a character mutters, "so that's what that was about" as much to the audience as to the other characters -- as if the audience couldn't figure that out or piece beginning and end together -- it harms the scene in the immediate and hampers the "wow" factor that the scene, and the greater film, was building towards. Indeed, things improve after a first half that is almost entirely built around scenes of a character wandering through the house as "strange things" continue to occur, every one of them built on the jump scare/loud music combination crutch. Even as the film does its best to redeem itself later on, that's just far too much cliché in too short a time to bear.

On the plus side, Insidious: Chapter 2 does handle that cliché rather well. Director James Wan and DP John Leonetti have constructed a rather moody, enveloping experience that's certainly hurt by the abundance of cliché but not destroyed by it as a lesser film might. At its best, this is a slick, high end Horror production, a moody picture that accelerates in its second half and certainly builds a story Insidious fans will be eager to see. Yet that's another problem. The film doesn't just work with the material introduced in the last film, it demands its audience be intimately familiar with it all, with the characters, plot specifics, and world nuance all. This is certainly not a non-fan-friendly sequel. It picks up immediately where the last film left off (beyond its opening ten minutes) and digs deeply into series lore thereafter. The plot grows a bit convoluted for the casual or first-time-series viewer, but it holds its own well enough to make for, at least, a moody and entertaining experience if one can get beyond the overexposure of basic genre elements. The film does wonders with how it works both the living and the dead into both this and the "Further" universe, mixing the two bravely and intelligently in a rather intense final act.

Insidious: Chapter 2 is a classic "mixed bag" motion picture. On one hand is a movie that might not hold its audience beyond the first half, a first half of genre staple excess. On the other hand is a film that seamlessly continues its story from the first film, builds smartly on it, and creates a very moody and highly effective atmosphere beyond reliance on jump scares and all of the big Horror string and crashing musical notes. Fans of the first film will enjoy it, but newcomers might be put off by both the film's assumption of deep universe and character understanding and heavy doses of cliché. Sony's Blu-ray release of Insidious: Chapter 2 features gorgeous video and terrific audio. A nice assortment of extras give shape to a rather good package. Recommended to series fans, and newcomers should definitely begin with Insidious first.

[CSW] -2.4- I thought "Insidious: Chapter 2 was a bit of disappointment that didn't live up to its predecessor even though it was much more comedic in comparison to the original. Specs and Tucker are nothing but pure comedic relief with their hunter-ninja-bear game, the quesadilla/unicorn code word argument, and the entire tranquilizer sequence. It was not as frightening as the original. The jump-scares are more methodical in execution and the ending is predictable sequel bait. You do need to see the first one to understand what's going on, and there are similarities, but the story is very, very different. The back story gave you some insight to why the demon was a demon, but it left more questions than answers and overall something was just lacking. It is almost as if once-is-enough is... one-time-to-many.
[V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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