Insidious: Chapter 2

Arriving seemingly unnoticed in 2011, Insidious was quickly picked up by horror fans and film fans alike after receiving an oddly positive reputation for a low-budget horror flick. Directed by the once unpredictable (but now certifiably impressive) James Wan, Insidious brought something that few other horror films had ever brought before...a good story; and was quickly brandished with a future sequel after being the most profitable film of the year. Now in 2013, straight off the back of the hugely impressive 'The Conjuring', Wan returns to direct the second in the soon to be franchise, as Insidious: Chapter 2 hails its audience with intelligent and vast storytelling leaving us drooling for more.

 Being very much another chapter in the 'Insidious story' the sequel continues straight where the first one left off, cleverly explaining the cliff-hanger left at the end of its predecessor before delving into Joshes (Patrick Wilson) past in order to severe links with the 'spirit world' and return to normal family life. Doing a fantastic job to immediately immerse the audience within its fanatical world of horror, Insidious: Chapter 2 benefits hugely from not being a simple product of its predecessor. Instead of delving into the horror of the unclear and convoluted 'further' the sequel prefers to flesh out the films mythologies with the continuation of a gruesome story touched upon in the first. Through this story a more sophisticated source of scares emerges within a story-line which is uncomfortably realistic and unnerving, playing with its mythology and planting its feet on the ground to provide a slightly more believable tone.What remains however is still a largely ludicrous plot whereby rules are consistently broken and new ones are made in a flash. With this the audience becomes restless and some scares soon become a source of comedy instead of horror, being marginally less scary than its popular predecessor. 

Insidious: Chapter 2 is not a breakthrough in the horror genre, but its franchise soon will be with the vast expanse of possible story which this sequel has laid down. Explaining the bizarre goings on in the first film, Insidious Chapter 2 veers away from the frigid story-line and finds its unique tread, fleshing the mythology out as it truly creeps under your skin and effortlessly plays with the ordinary and  makes it terrifying. 

7.5/10- A surprisingly ambitious sequel with gusto and intelligence.   

Calum Russell