Insidious Chapter 2

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Release Date: September 13th 2013

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

Director: James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious, Saw)

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey, Steve Coulter

In my eyes sequels are usually never as good as the first. In Insidious Chapter 2's case, it excels in mostly every way.

Chapter 2 starts exactly where the first left off. Elise (Shaye) is dead, after helping Josh (Wilson) bring back his son from The Further (the creepy netherworld), only to find Josh acting very odd and not being himself, so the Lambert family enlist some help from friends old and new to help with their situation.

All the scares are in the right place, which is what the first lacked. Just as you've caught your breath back from one scare, another comes unpredictably. It's clear that this is going to be consistent after the title credits come as a shock. The cinematography adds to the trepidation; the camera takes you exactly where it wants you in order to unleash the unexpected. James Wan has a natural talent where others don't, with this film and the likes of Saw, he leaves his viewers with their hands over their faces or ears.

There is a careful amount of overlapping with the first film, tying up certain events nicely. This has been done before in the Saw franchise, but goes too far after seven films. Wan had nothing to do with Saw after the first one, and has taken advantages of other director's potential work.

I am torn between love and hate for Specks and Tucker. The paranormal investigators are the leads in comedy, cracking jokes or being cowardly at our expense. This is good because they keep the audience calm when they shouldn't be, making the surprises harder and stronger, and bad because it takes away any seriousness the audience had for the film.  

Some of the ghouls and ghosts in The Further are random, even if they're scary when they appear, but maybe that's the whole point, not much is known about the netherworld. It is an open world that I feel hasn't left ours yet.

Overview: a step forward from Insidious. The end is left open to a third chapter. Let's hope it's as good as the second.