‘Insidious Chapter 2’ scares as much as original film

After a movie has been released for a few weeks in theaters, the crowds normally die down. In the case of horror films, this usually means the box-office business trickles up, and movies that are only a few weeks old are yanked from the gigaplex. If moviegoers catch these movies right before they leave theaters, there’s a good chance they will have the entire theater to themselves.

So was the case with my experience watching Insidious Chapter 2, the terrifying sequel from director James Wan. I was fortunate (unfortunate) enough to catch a screening where I was by my lonesome. About 3,000 times I looked over my shoulder, half-expecting to see a clown or serial killer lurking in the shadows. It was an uneasy moviegoing experience, heightened by Insidious Chapter 2’s stranglehold on my senses.

This movie is scary good fun, much like the original tale.

In the second of what hopefully will be several installments, the Lamberts are trying to move on from the hellish hauntings of the first movie. They’re in a new house and attempting to put distance between themselves and the past. It turns out, as in most horror movies, the scares can never truly leave a family alone. In this case, the uneasiness involves Josh (Patrick Wilson), the heroic dad from the first one who saved his son (Ty Simpkins) from the far reaches of a devilish underworld. Trying to piece everything together is Renai (Rose Byrne), Josh’s wife, and Lorraine (Barbara Hershey), Josh’s mysterious mother.

At its heart, the Insidious franchise is a haunted house thriller. Sure, there are hints of possession and religious undertones, but most of the story is centered around the haunted Lamberts and their unwelcoming abodes. And who doesn’t love a good haunted house story?

Wan, working off a script by Leigh Whannell, is an alumnus of Saw and The Conjuring. He’s one of the most exciting voices in the horror genre, and that praise is because of his resurrecting of old-movie theatrics. He loves the things that go bump in the night. From the creaking doors to the perfectly timed children’s songs to the lurking shadows, he’s not about the gore and grotesque debauchery of so many other horror directors (and I’m saying this about the man who directed the first Saw). Insidious is as much a throwback to the Vincent Price era as it is a statement on horror’s hopeful future.

The scares are genuinely solid, even if the story doesn’t quite make sense. It takes a lot of energy to figure out how Insidious and its sequel coalesce, and Whannell’s script probably spends too much time on exposition and connecting the dots. However, once the storytelling is finished, and the story can just be told, Chapter 2 has so many frightening moments.

The cast is enjoyable, although their characters are never explored beyond the screams and slamming of doors. Josh probably has the most of a character arc, and Wilson is able to bring a Jekyll/Hyde sentimentality to the role. Byrne is equally skilled, although the filmmakers need to give her more to do than simply looking left and looking right, always scared and on the brink of crying.

Sitting in that deserted movie theater, with nothing but Wan’s visions to discomfort me, my mind quickly turned to all the ways I was vulnerable from attacks both real and otherworldly. What a great horror movie. What a great moviegoing experience.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Insidious Chapter 2

• 2013

• Directed by James Wan

• Written by Leigh Whannell

• Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey and Ty Simpkins

• Running time: 105 minutes

• Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements

• Rating: