Horror films just are not what they used to be. Too many fail to capture the feeling that members of the audience have paid good money for: fright. Horror is a hit-or-miss genre, but that is where "Insidious: Chapter 2" has struck gold - finding a way to scare all viewers, not just some.
Released Sept. 13, the film starts off with the Lambert family feeling as if they have a new lease on life now that the demonic haunting that plagued their family in the first film has finally ceased. They think moving will help create not only physical distance from those memories, but also an emotional separation. They soon find they're mistaken when those same haunts, and worse, begin to terrorize them again.
At the root of the family's supernatural problems is the father, Josh (Patrick Wilson), who's still possessed by the demon from the first movie. It's fascinating to watch his breakdown and how it affects his wife and children. This type of horror, rather than the typical jump-out-of-the screen terror found in most scary movies, is much more effective because it is not a quick scare. Rather, it's a gradual, momentum-based version of horror that piles up as the movie continues.
The other issue is the mysterious murder of Elise Rainier, the Lamberts' hired supernatural medium from the original film, and the main suspect is Josh. The team who worked with Rainier attempts to contact her beyond the grave in order to solve her murder. This plotline is woven together with the Lambert family's story Director James Wan, who also was behind this summer's biggest horror gem, "The Conjuring," has made a name for himself within the horror genre with this technique of blending two distinct plots and making the viewers connect the dots.
"Insidious: Chapter 2" is a refreshing break from contemporary horror, slowing the pace and not seeking cheap scares through flashes of terror. Instead, the film relies on the story itself to do the trick.
Brett Montana can be reached at brett.montana@student.shu.edu.
