INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2

2013 / Director. James Wan.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

I was a big fan of INSIDIOUS. In fact I am a fan of just about everything James Wan and Leigh Whannel do. That film explored the typical conventions of the haunted-house genre and it explored new conventions. It essentially flipped a tried & true formula on its head and became a powerful and atmospheric creep-fest that made hairs stand on end. Now comes INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2. Wan and Whannel are back with the gang and they've managed to shift genres and deliver a film that not only continues the story but expands on it and takes us into all new realms. Picking up where the first film left off we catch up with the the Lambert family who are still trying to overcome the trauma of the first haunting. Following those events, it becomes clear that the malevolent spectre is still lurking and it has unfinished business to tend to. With the ghost hunters (Leigh Whannel & Angus Sampson) back to investigate and rid the Lamberts of their torment we are taken on a strange and surreal journey into the subconscience. If the first film were described at an AMITYVILLE HORROR type of story, this second instalment is much more like a JACOBS LADDER or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET type of deal. Wan has created a textured and visceral world and exploited every trick of the trade. There are jump scares galore and all kinds of creaks and murmurs. It is a chilling and atmospheric horror film that builds upon the legacy nicely and sets INSIDIOUS up to become a fantastic franchise. Chapter 3 is currently in the works with Whannel taking over the directorial reigns. It will be a prequel and by all accounts, an equally sinister and unnerving experience. 

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