INSIDIOUS (2010) - Movie Review

Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Runtime: 103 min
Rated: PG-13 for thematic material, violence, terror and frightening images, and brief strong language
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon),4K Ultra HD, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) have a happy family with their three young children. When tragedy strikes their young son, Josh and Renai begin to experience things that science cannot explain. James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the co-creators of Saw, join forces with the producers of Paranormal Activity to take you on a mind-bending journey into the world of the unknown.

Review:

Who knew in 2010 that the "Insidious" movies would become such a powerhouse horror franchise, spanning no less than five movies, and grossing a total of $731 million worldwide against a combined budget of $42.5 million ? Talk about a money factory. The first film was produced by Oren Peli, writer/director of the hit found-footage horror film "Paranormal Activity", and micro-budget horror mega-producer Jason Blum, and it was directed by "Saw" and "The Conjuring" filmmaker James Wan from a script by Leigh Whannell ("Saw", "Upgrade", "The Invisible Man"). That's quite the impressive genre pedigree right there.

Although hardly original as far as plot concepts go, "Insidious" is a crafty horror flick that knows how to give you a good scare. Wan is a big genre fan and knows what works and what doesn't. The basic haunted house trope is given a bigger twist with the addition of the astral projection concept, and the introduction of a purgatory dimension called The Further where vengeful spirits and malicious demons reside. The Further's distinct look has become an iconic element of these movies, and that's thanks to Wan's gift for unsettling imagery.

It's actually impressive how much the filmmaker is capable of achieving on a very small budget ($1.5 million). Most of the scares rely on things you can't see, or fleeting glimpses of barely distinguishable figures, all of it achieved with very little CGI, and virtually no blood or gore. Wan also makes great use of shadows and darkness, and the film's muted colors give it a sense of discomfort and unease. It also helps that Joseph Bishara's score is pure nightmare fodder. I dare you to listen to it on album with the lights off.

Of course, no haunting can be efficient without decent performances. Both Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are perfectly likeable leads and have great chemistry, while iconic scream queens Lin Shaye as psychic Elise Rainier, and Barbara Hershey deliver two of the movie's best performances. Screenwriter Whannell also stars alongside Angus Sampson as two bumbling supernatural investigators working with Elise, but the duo ends up being more annoying than endearing due to poorly written and cringe-inducing attempts at humor.

The movie is at its least interesting when it slows down in between paranormal events to tell its story and build up lore, but you probably won't even notice because you'll be way too busy anticipating the next jump scare. With elements inspired by "Poltergeist" and "Paranormal Activity", "Insidious" plays on familiar tropes and cliches and molds them into a refreshingly terrifying experience that feels like the best kind of haunted house ride.

SCORE: 8/10