It’s a pleasant surprise that Insidious is from the creative duo behind Saw, Death Sentence, and, who could forget, Dead Silence. The first Saw installment was a decent B-movie, not much more. Death Sentence was a campy, if somewhat enjoyable, revenge romp. Dead Silence is, without question, a bad film. The one thing all those films had in common? Potential.
Say what you will about the final product, but those are good-looking films with a few fun moments. James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s haunted house pic is a polished looking film, like their past work, but is has what those other films are missing: a well-handled tone and genuine moments of freight.
Insidious is an effective horror film because of its wonderful use of atmosphere, sound, ideas and images. It does what all great horror films do: get under your skin with common fears and relatable nightmare images, not blood and guts. There’s next-to-no blood spilt in Insidious. Wan and Whannell never go for gore to stir up cheap scares, and smartly so. They set out to make Poltergeist of this generation, and the story couldn’t make that more obvious.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne star as a married couple whose family just cant catch a break. After their son goes into a mysterious and unexplainable coma, things go a bit haywire in their newly-bought house. When it comes to the creepy house gags, it’s the works: creaky noises, creepy voices, an imaginary little kid, etc. etc. Although Wan and Whannel are treading familiar territory, very little comes off stale, especially in the first two-thirds.
The set-up is strong because the characters Byrne and Wilson create an authenticity. This is an actual couple, with actual problems. They both have a natural charisma and likability that’s perfect for characters being tortured by evil spirits, because one actually wants to feel something for these people. Seeing relatable characters getting tortured is startling, so having naturalistic actors, such as Byrne and Wilson, brings a lot to the table.
The climax is where Insidious starts to lose a bit of its magic. Early on the antagonist is mostly hidden and left to one’s imagination. The glimpses the audience gets of this villain are entirely bone chilling , so it’s not much of a surprise the red-faced demon doesn’t fare all too well when it’s fully presented. The climax becomes less atmosphere reliant and more running and screaming, which is a shame.
Insidious was not made on a big-budget, and that rarely shows through. Wan has always had a talented eye, but here he comes off far more focused and in control behind the camera. There’s a competence here that most horror filmmakers lack. This haunted house (or child, if you will) pick is 100-minutes of pure darkness and fun.