Optiluiz here again for another movie review. Today's movie is Insidious, as suggested by our reader Amy. Insidious is directed by James Wan, the creator of the Saw franchise, collaborating with Oren Peli, the creator of the Paranormal Activity franchise. 'Tis a so-called independent horror film about... Well, Poltergeist on steroids, basically.
Haunted house films are all very similar. Especially ones dealing with families. With tropes such as the skeptic dad, the psychic with pages of expositional dialogue and the kid that communicates with supernatural forces, it's easy to see that this is a very innovative genre (Sarcasm, ha-ha!). Insidious promises to be different, boldly claiming that it's not the house that's haunted! That kid must be the hell-spawn of Satan himself right? Could this be the breath of fresh air that horror films desperately need? In short, yes and no. Mostly no.
The film does innovate in some aspects, such as the, rarely explored in film, astral projection phenomena, and some truly insidious creature designs (See what I did there? Ha-ha!) The general atmosphere is ultimately very unsettling, with production value not at all hinting at this being an independent film. However, bits of mediocre story-telling and an almost unsatisfying climax come close to ruining the experience. I still found it to be better than Saw, though.
The acting is great for a horror film, though the character arcs are predictable. The special effects department definitely deserves a pat on the back for the great work with creature and set designs. The reptilian-spider-monkey-demon-thing was pretty much constructed purely out of nightmare fuel. This is a scary film, no doubt. That's a trait that, oddly enough, many horror films lack these days, though it doesn't always guarantee quality.
If you think of the film more as a thrilling theme park ride than a visual story, it succeeds in everything it sought out to do. It scares and shocks you, leaving you a bit dazed by the end. In general narrative terms however, it feels lacking. With some more polish, specially in the third act, it could have been a genre classic. As it stands, it's still good, but not as much as it should have been. Overall, 7.5/10.
That concludes today's review. Thanks for the suggestion, Amy. I hope you've enjoyed reading, and stay tuned for our next review of... Grave Encounters! I'll post it soon. For now, I leave you with the trailer for Insidious.
Chainsaw cheers,
-Optiluiz out...
PS: So many 7.5s in a row... Could it be a mere coincidence? Actually, yes.
PPS: I actually do love most of James Wan's work, just not the Saw franchise.
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