Insidious Too

Insidious was one of the better mainstream horrors of recent years. It's a creepy little film that has a strong nightmarish quality to it that genuinely unnerved me when I saw it. It has a strong third act and a nihilistic 'game over' ending. It's a strong self contained film. It was also a hit -  so here's a sequel that nobody needs.

It makes no concessions to anyone who hasn't seen the original. It's more of a continuation of a story than a horror film. Every character is retained but less time is given to the Lambert family this time out which makes it less engaging. Instead the focus is on explaining  the back story of the 'old lady in black'.  I hate this film's obsession with explaining everything. I liked it better when I knew nothing other than she was the spirit of a  malicious crone. The revelation when it comes is quite mundane. Turns out it's the ghost of a cross dressing serial killer. Boring seen-it-before ordinary horrors. What scared me about the first film anyway was 'the man with fire on his face'. That freaked me out and seemed to belong in a David Lynch movie. There's nothing to rival that this time out and no surreal touches.

It seems reluctant to deliver any really big scares. There's a long sequence pre-credits which is apropos of nothing, the payoff being nothing more than the title of the film filling your vision whilst there's a big blast of noise. Is that scary? The filmmakers must think so because they do it again for the  cliffhanger ending. In between there's lots of long quiet stretches punctuated by sudden jolts of noise and movement.  All horror films are a bit like this to a degree. There's always a funfair ride element, but this seemed particularly lazy and contrived. I think that's ultimately why I took a dislike to it.

It is what it is: a quick sequel making a quick buck off a superior film and trying to draw in the largest possible audience. These are template movies aimed at the teen market who will react to almost anything.  The experience is strangely inert and oddly safe. Mark Kermode calls them 'horror movies for people who don't like horror movies'. Nigel Floyd call it 'cattle prod cinema'. We're all being snooty about it but it's clear that these films just aren't for us. Shouting 'Boo!' at someone will always get a reaction, but so what? That's how this left me feeling: so what?