Friday, March 25, 2011

Insidious: Movie Review



The trailer for Insidious had me hooked. I wasn't bothered that it was rated PG-13, because although rare there are some Horror movies that succeeded with that rating. The Ring (2002), The Sixth Sense (1999), and one of my favorites Poltergeist (1982) and actually rated PG are among the best! As a matter of fact, I'm still trying to figure out why Paranormal Activity was rated R, other than just to evade the stigma of being PG-13, though enjoyable enough, there was nothing worthy of an R rating in the movie.

That said, Insidious succeeds in being fun, scary, and getting the audience to scream. The influence of the team behind Paranormal Activity is heavily present along with the tense atmosphere that James Wan is known for. It includes some light comedic moments at just the right times to break the tension. There are parts of Insidious that pay homage to The Shining, and (bordering on straight-up remake/re-imaginning) Poltergeist. One criticism I have is that I can't remember any of the characters names. All the greats have you remembering the main characters names. Even though I can't remember the names, I still had fun.
(Read the spoiler filled part after the jump!)


**SPOILER ALERT: Some of this could be gleamed from the trailer, but be warned anyway**

My Random Thoughts on the Movie

This lead in is really slow, long and drawn out. [After seeing the end] I really appreciate the beginning now because it allowed time for tension to be built up. In John Carpenter's The Thing nothing happened for the first 30 mins. The Shining was a slow burner too. Both movies used that to build up to great endings. Unlike "The Happening" that used a slow burn to build up to mad trees. This movie's ending was somewhat satisfying, so the slow lead in worked for me.

Who wears matching pajamas with their mom? Seriously the son and the mother had on the same pjs.

I like how they actually moved, because in most haunted house movies the idiots stay in the house.

The Darth Maul Demon, at first glance in the preview, he looked a little hokey, but they used him effectively, and I give them credit for making me jump out of my seat using music, pacing and quick glimpses of a guy in body paint.

The witch looks a lot like Mary Shaw from Dead Silence. It was like they said, "Well we paid a lot for this costume. Let's use it again."

*SUPER SPOILER ALERT, as in you better have already watched the movie before reading!*



The little boy ghost dancing to Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" was hysterical!

"The Further" is a really dumb name. Seriously you couldn't come up with a better name for it than that?

When the dad went to "the further" to get his son (I already told you I never picked up on their names) I kept thinking all they need is a rope and a tennis ball.

When his wife was yelling "Follow my voice!", I was thinking, "Carol Ann (see that's a name you can remember!) follow the light! Come into the light!"

For some reason the whole sequence with the father in the house in "the further" reminded me of an episode of Tales From the Darkside. Mostly the scene with the twins and their 1950's nuclear family.

The twins in the hallway? Who didn't expect them to say, "Come play with us Danny!" (See that, another memorable name!)

James Wan and the Paranormal Activity people have some serious daddy issues. In this movie and in Paranormal Activity 2 the dads are unlikeable and doomed not to make it to the end.

Update: Also when Darth Maul Demon was crawling on the wall he reminded me of the Jeepers Creeper.

I forgot to add that the scene with Darth Maul Demon in his lair reminded me of Evil Dead 2.

....and what is James Wan's fascination with puppets?

...and Oh look it's the Jigsaw puppet drawn on the board! Nice little touch there.

This movie even made some people cry!

Most and Least Anticipated Horror Movies of 2012-2013

Continue to "Sinister" - Movie Review






© 2011 H.B. Walker All Rights Reserved

60 comments:

  1. I'm terrible. I was so anxious to watch the movie, I googled a movie review that contained as much spoilers as possible. Notorious for spoiling my own suspense and adrenaline. Can't wait till this hits theaters Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do that sometimes too. The previews for this movie are super effective at creating an uncomfortable feeling of suspense. Very creepy. Thanks for the comment NitaSin!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I watched the movie today! I must say, the trailer looked a little better, but don't all trailers look better? Lol.

    I really liked this movie, though; it kept me focused/entertained/scared/guessing/screaming. And I totally agree with you: I didn't remember any of the characters name except for Dalton.(:

    ReplyDelete
  4. The audience screaming was the best! I have to admit I screamed too, and I can't remember a movie that made me scream. I almost screamed when Samara came out of the TV in The Ring! Almost. Thanks for the comment Nadinee(:!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Josh was the dad... Renais was the mom... Dalton was the traveling son... Foster was the other son... Cali was the daughter... Elise was the woman they called in.

    The other names don't really matter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Steven. Awesome points. I didn't make the connection about the Dad's aversion to aging being about the witch subconsciously. I also missed the little boy in the further. I love movies that I can pic up on subtle nuances upon repeated viewing.

    @Anonymous you have a good memory, because other than maybe Dalton, the other names were lost to me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1970s cinema. That's all I kept thinking from the first time the word "Insidious" filled the entire frame of the screen.

    The vibe I got was "The Shining" with a touch of "Poltergeist". Then again the nail sharpening seen was very NMOES.

    I think the movie kind of fell apart after they moved into the 2nd house. It felt like two different movies cut and pasted together.

    If they were trying to add humor to the film in an attempt to be like "Poltergeist" (James Wan kept bring up this film in his interviews about "Insidious" because he wanted this to be our generations version of the movie)they should have studied the script more. If they had, they would have noticed that it was spread out, through out the film starting in the 2nd scene, 1st act (aka 1st 15 mins of the movie).

    With this film it felt like they add humor into the 2nd half of the 2nd act (about 60 mins in).
    Smells like Oren silently wrote or directed 2 1/2 acts and Wan did the rest.

    I say that because the first 60 mins was very "Paranormal Activity" with doors opening and closing by themselves. Objects moving on their own. All the devices he used in that film were used here creating the same type of suspense.

    That 3rd act screams "Dead Silence". Nothing more to say there. Even the witch haunting the father resembled Mary Shaw.

    Don't get me wrong. I like both styles but they should (and could) have blended them better. In fact I think their styles work great together.

    Anyway, I think that I'm one of the few that actually liked the ending. It felt like Oren, Wan, and Whannell finally figured out how to blend their styles together.

    I hope they do another film together because they can only get better from here. A solid effort. B-

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cosign on all of the above. Plus I agree that the comedy could have been spread out more evenly. Here's hoping for part 2!

    ReplyDelete
  9. so was the dad possessed all his life? or just at toward the end when he was staying late at work? or was it an on again off again thing until the very end?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think the dad was close to being possessed and that the the old just finally got him in the end

    ReplyDelete
  11. I was wondering if the old lady was in him for the whole movie?? Remember the cream on his eyes... pulling the gray hair!!!! But then he was all upset about his son while looking at the pics that he drew.... @ the end of the movie i was like ok she got to him at the end but then thinking about it later the hole cream and gray hair thing hit me !!! lol
    any other ideas????

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think his subconscious fear of the old lady fueled his fear of aging.

    ReplyDelete
  13. that sounds about right!!!!! lol thanx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just saw Insidious. the ending messed me up but i thought about it when i got home. the old lady was closer and closer to him each time a picture was taken and the longer he stayed from his physical body the easier it was for a spirit to enter. he wasted valuable time fussing with her in front of that mirror. if he had just followed Dalton he would still be Josh. Sheesh. But overall loved it!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know, right! That was so frustrating. The audience that I saw it with was yelling at him.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Funny because the audience I was with was yelling at him to hurry up also. She left him alone alright and had time to get to his body first. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I just saw the movie. I liked it. The confusing ending wasn't about the father. I was wondering if Dalton was also possessed by the red face creature/ghost. The ending showed a quick glance if the door opened to the sleeping Dalton and something slowing walking in but the clip stopped short to show who that was. It appears to me that it wasn't Dalton, especially since the father got possesed. What you think?

    ReplyDelete
  18. @ anonymous i totally agree wit u. I think something else possesed dalton @ the end. Me and my girlfriend were talkin ands she brought this up to me the fact that dalton wasnt the one entering his human body. I've been looking everywhere for any explanations of what i just saw and this is the most help. Excellent observations on the photos w' her getting closer and closer and the eye cream. I think the best writing and producing leaves it up to the viewer to decide whats really happeneing. Can you say Insidious part 2!!!! mattkilla@att.net

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for the reommendation! I only read part of your post (avoiding super-spoilers, lol), and now I can't wait to see the movie!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I noticed the eye cream/gray hair scene as well, and thought it was just a scene of mildly amusing, realistic domesticity. But after the ending, it got me wondering if there was a reason the film makers chose to highlight the husband doing these traditionally feminine things...which made me think that he may have been inhabited by the old woman demon the whole time. His mother showed a series of childhood photos in which the spirit got closer and closer to him until she just stopped taking photos (which wouldn't have stopped the spirit from progressing further), he claims no memory of this, he sees himself as a child in the other dimension (like he'd been caught there), he first runs into the spirit in the other dimension while looking in a mirror, and we see him come back to his body before awakening (not the woman)...but when photographed, his true nature shows through. Glad other people are wondering about this too.
    Also, what was up with constantly discussing the lipstick faced demon's lack of eyes (holes for eyes, black holes where his eyes should be)...then it finally shows up with bright green contacts???

    ReplyDelete
  21. I was wondering the same thing - the whole, "was he possessed the whole time?". I don't think he was - because he had the out of body experience to go into the other realm. So he was in his body and not the old woman.

    It seemed that his/old woman's comment of "I guess I won't be needing these anymore" when he handed the photos back is what made it click that it wasn't josh to the psychic...who then decided to take the photo. Why did that comment make it click with the psychic? Anyone else think it was that comment that made her take the pic?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think Dalton did not come back either. When he was eating at the end he said I am very hungry and very tired too. This could be an indication of what Elise was saying about the spirits and how it was very difficult to enter a live body. She said it takes a lot of time and energy and the demon was the closest yet so he was very tired after he managed to get in.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I agree with you. I think both Dalton and Josh didn't manage to return to the living. 1. Dalton was very hungry after finally waking up 2. The moment before he woke up, with the door slightly opening and all isn't really clear.

    And I think the old woman possessed Josh only from time to time because if he had been possessed all along, why would he still agree to go back to the spirit world and into the further? I think Josh had been struggling to rid himself of this old woman who's been trying to possess him?

    Or maybe the old woman is the demon's accomplice?

    There's a lot that isn't clear mainly because Josh doesn't want to give away much information. He seems to be hiding a lot of useful information...

    Anybody else agrees with me on this one?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I will have to agree with poster Insidious that Dalton most likely didn't make it back too, there were simply too much stacked against Dalton, imagine, a little kid against a fully-fledged demon? Even his dad Josh got outgunned by the old spectral lady.

    One thing that bothers me constantly is that who is the real target actually? Suppose Dalton made it back in the end and Josh was claimed by the old lady, then the whole plan of the Darth Maul Demon was to help his underlings to gain a foothold in the human world?

    ReplyDelete
  25. over all this movie was amazing. i love how it had a mixture of humor, horror, and suspense. very creative. bravo ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. My apologies for the comments not posting in a timely manner. They should have automatically posted, but unfortunately Blogger marked them as spam.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oke that some drinks and sit down for these theories:

    The woman told that sometimes ghosts just want to return to the real world for living. This means that they mean no harm. This was the first clue is received.
    I think Josh was possessed from the beginning. There is a but to this, the old lady was in my opinion one of those ghosts that just want to live. In her lifetime as josh she got attached to everybody who was close, just like in real life.
    Then we got the second part where she hears that somebody/something is trying to possess Dalton. My guess is that because she comes from the Further she is afraid that "her" son is almost getting possessed by the demon. At first she doesn't want to believe it but when she sees the drawings from Dalton she finally accepts the fact that somebody is trying to possess Dalton.

    This theory supports the young boy who points the way. I think that is Josh who is still captured in the Further as people do not age there. This boy knows that Dalton is in problem and chooses "his" son over his own life.

    The theory also supports the mirror in the end but in a different way that most describe. Beacause the woman is in that body for so long she hates to look at herself as the old woman. Also when she is in the Further it is more how she sees it. And she sees herself as Josh until she looks in the mirror.

    I also think that Dalton is possessed in the end because, as many already told, of the hunger and sleep. The sleep could also be explained because Dalton did not follow his sleep cycle. As you maybe know everybody follows 5 steps in sleeping and only 1 or 2 make you less tired(deep sleep, REM).

    The thing that also puzzles me are the pictures. My best guess is that the makers did this on purpose. As a lot of the great movies have an ending where nobody is quite certain about. All of the theories do NOT support the pictures. Let's say situation 1 is the situation where Josh is not possessed. The last picture taken of Josh when he was young showed that the woman was extremely close. If Josh really forgot all about it and didn't enter the Further anymore then the woman would still be very close because the Further is cumulative. Every time you enter your body will become weaker. So in situation 1 on the pictures you should have seen the woman in the background.
    Situation 2 is the situation where Josh was possessed all along. On the picture you should have seen the old woman. Which obviously does not happen.
    So in both situations something is wrong! I came up with some possibilities and yes they are there.
    Possibility 1 is that he was possessed all along and that the woman found a way to hide for the pictures. Because the pictures where not spontanious she was able to enter the Further just before the picture was taken and when the picture was taken she immediatly came back.
    Possibility 2 is that he was not possessed but that the mother of Josh altered the pictused. As you can maybe remember is that she looked at that picture in the kitchen for a long time and she looked uncomfortable. This was a hint for me that she deleted the woman from the picture because she was afraid he would remember, and yes it is a modern movie so programs like Photoshop existed there!

    With these theories and possibilities I can make perfect reasonings for the entire movie, but still i'm not completely sure how correct I am.

    Sorry for the grammar mistakes adn stuff like that. I'm dutch and it's late and I still got a little bit adrenaline left in my body.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Great theories! You are right the best films do leave a lot up to interpretation. This allows for more people to enjoy the film. Also your English is excellent! Thank you for reading. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  29. dalton at the end of the movie is him self but the father(josh) is not and he was never possessed. because
    elise helped josh when he was younger and would of known if he was possessed or not.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What were they called? Josh and Dalton, because of their ability to leave their physical body, what was the term used?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Astral projection. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection

    ReplyDelete
  32. I believe that Dalton becomes possessed as well as the father because after the scene with the son being chased by the demon crawling on the wall the door opens at a much higher point of view then the small child would have had. The demon was much taller then the child so therefore he was the one who opened the door. This along with the hunger and tiredness.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I think the woman had been hovering very near Josh all his life. In the very very beginning you see a face hiding in a hallway.. I think that was her and a clue for people looking in retrospect on the movie, that in fact she never truly left.
    I also think Josh began unknowingly astral projecting again because the clip where he's grading papers and falls asleep.. it switches to a creepy hallway lit with candles. When he later enters 'The Further' looking for Dalton he's shown walking through the same candlelit corridor again.

    H.R. said -
    "It seemed that his/old woman's comment of "I guess I won't be needing these anymore" when he handed the photos back is what made it click that it wasn't josh to the psychic...who then decided to take the photo. Why did that comment make it click with the psychic? Anyone else think it was that comment that made her take the pic?"

    I think what alerted the psychic is when she touched Josh's hand to take the photographs back, his hand looked strange and old. It's very brief but if you look close you can see it.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Gonna try again first post didnt work:)

    I think the woman had been hovering very near Josh all his life. In the very very beginning you see a face hiding in a hallway.. I think that was her and a clue for people looking in retrospect on the movie, that in fact she never truly left.
    I also think Josh began unknowingly astral projecting again because the clip where he's grading papers and falls asleep.. it switches to a creepy hallway lit with candles. When he later enters 'The Further' looking for Dalton he's shown walking through the same candlelit corridor again.

    H.R. said -
    "It seemed that his/old woman's comment of "I guess I won't be needing these anymore" when he handed the photos back is what made it click that it wasn't josh to the psychic...who then decided to take the photo. Why did that comment make it click with the psychic? Anyone else think it was that comment that made her take the pic?"
    I think what alerted the psychic is when she touched Josh's hand to take the photographs back, his hand looked strange and old. It's very brief but if you look close you can see it.
    -scarlet

    ReplyDelete
  35. I was leaning towards the "Josh was always possessed" theory because several scenes suggest the possibility,, but there a couple of firmer kinks in that:

    1) Elise could always see what no one else could see (ie red faced demon in the corner of the ceiling over Dalton's bed). She did not see the Old Woman in Josh.
    2) Elise became aware of Josh's possession as she took
    the old photos from "Josh's" hand; she saw they were the Old Woman's.
    3) During the seance--in which Josh is present-- Dalton quits speaking and threats are made to Elise. "I know who you are"--quite possibly the Old Woman is seeking revenge on Elise for hypnotizing Josh to forget his ability for astral projection, thus keeping her trapped in The Further. The threatening language matches what is said
    to Elise as the possessed Josh kills her.
    HOWEVER:
    Why would the Old Woman be waiting IN THE FURTHER for Josh to astral project there leaving his body empty? I ask this because, according to the old photographs, she is present in this world while Josh is AWAKE and LIVING.

    Good movie! A solid freak-out during the whole show.


    This is all my .02 worth of opinion. Lol

    ReplyDelete
  36. Great conversation going on here! I am sorry for the late posting of comments. I set the comment set up to automatically post, but the comments are still being sent to me for moderating. I'll just have to be much faster on reading them. Thanks for reading! Cheers! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  37. Why is the lipstick face demon called Lipstick Face Demon? Are the handprints lipstick and not blood? Also, what's with the Tiptoe Through the Tulips song? The demon and the ghost child both played it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  38. Is it also possible that the dad has been possessed the entire time since childhood, but being hypnotized somehow created a barrier or something for the old lady? And by going back to the further that barrier was destroyed allowing the whole being of the old lady to go back and gain complete control?

    ReplyDelete
  39. @ Ellie
    "Lipstick Face Demon" is the nickname that movie goers started calling the demon, because the bright red make-up reminds them of lipstick. He has also been called Darth Maul Demon for similar reasons. I do think the handprints are supposed to be blood.

    @Anonymous This theory keeps coming up, and so many people feel this way after viewing the movie that I think there must be something to it. I really want to buy the DVD/Blue-Ray because hopefully there are some extras on there with a directors commentary too.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi.. I just finished watching Insidious for the second time, and I'm still as freaked out as after the first watch...well not quite as shivering!! I think someone made an excellent point when they said "the door opens at a much higher point of view then the small child would have had." when referring to Dalton or the Demon returning to Dalton's physical body. I'm inclined to also suggest that Josh had been possessed all along given the number of clues - the vanity and almost old-fashioned language/tone that he spoke at various parts.. Even the way he was slumped in his classroom chair when saying goodbye to his students was reminiscent of an old's person posture.. Most of all, seeing the young boy version of Josh in the farther hit home that he still is wandering and was never let back into his physical body - that of the grown up Josh which became possessed by the Old Lady... why else would Josh see himself as a boy in the farther??

    ReplyDelete
  41. A lot of good points people I liked this move but I'm not going to lie the first time I saw it I was so scared I was afraid of the dark for like three weeks to a month thinking the demon was there lol but as I watch it over and over I'm starting to really like it I can't wait for the blu ray to come out I need to know what the deleted scences are and what the director says but the one thing that messes me up what is the crazy girl killing her family in the living room with a shot gun all about???

    ReplyDelete
  42. I loved this movie! Hands down best scary movie I've seen in years. Totally creepy. I liked the unique plot twist in the second half.

    ~Sherry

    Sherry Soule Official Website

    Author of the Spellbound Series

    ReplyDelete
  43. The reason elise or whatever reacted to the father giving her the pictures is that he said he would not need them anymore.... he never had them to begin with untill that night. The old lady wouldnt have known that. thats how she knew something was wrong with the father. He wasnt possessed the whole time and the reason the mother looked at the picture so long was because there was no woman in it and it was kind of a setup to the end when she gave them to him.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I just saw it last night and was thinking about the ending that was a bit confusing. When Elsie was putting Josh to sleep she made it very clear to him to NOT talk to or question anyone, or else they would try to take his body in the real world.

    As he went into the farther, i dont know why he didn't keep his mouth shut. But at any rate he finds his son and gets home. When they get home his son runs on to his body and doesn't stop until he gets there, but he is fighting off the attacks from the ghost who wants his body without saying anything.

    But Josh takes a bit of a different route. He starts talking to the woman who wants his bodyl, saying, im not afraid of you, leave me alone, go away etc. and this may have been the reason she was able to get his body, because he went against what Elsie warned him not to do!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Josh couldn't have been possessed all along b/c of the wedding picture and family picture of himself and the kids. Remember Josh's mother stated that 'she couldn't believe Josh stood still enough for a picture'. If he was possessed he would have found a way out of getting his picture taken with his wife & kids.

    I think due to the stress of Dalton's medical condition/comatose condition, he stayed longer at work and would fall asleep. During his sleep, he probably started leaving his body to escape the reality of his life. (He thought he was probably dreaming). This caused the Old Woman to get even closer to him. And finally, when he went looking for his son in the Further, he make the mistake of talking to the Old Woman who was stalling him and keeping him out of his body long enough to enter it.

    ReplyDelete
  46. It makes sense if Josh is possessed all along because of his lady like ways and trying to look as young as possible. Also when back into the further his younger self is still trapped which must mean that his body was taken and he can't get back in. When he is back in the house and stops at the mirror the old woman is standing there not doing anything. It was a reflection of what is actually inside of him and had she not already captured his body she would have been fighting for it just like the other spirits. Recent pictures don't reveal the old woman because Josh apparently repressed it and the woman after being in the body for so long, also might have done the same. It isn't until the spirit inside of Josh is reminded of the further that she remembers who she actually is. After writing this I actually feel like this is the real case. I think the conclusion is that this old woman lost in the further for such a long time finds herself into the real world and then gets caught up in reality.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I don't think Josh was possessed the whole time because it would of shown up in the photo his mum was looking at! I watched it on DVD and everyone in the movie was calling the demon the lipstick demon in the making and extra features because he put the red on his face with lipstick.. There were scenes but I'm not sure if they were in the cinema cut. Did " Josh" kill his wife at the end? I enjoyed the movie but I like endings better when I think oh yes that's why that happened.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I didnt see the movie yet but it sounds amazingly scary

    ReplyDelete
  49. After reading this reviews i get interested watching it. I think it was cool movie.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I don't think the dad could have been possessed the whole movie, because then the old lady would be in the wedding picture as him, and in the family photo. I think that maybe some people are over thinking the situation lol

    ReplyDelete
  51. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I've truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I'll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
    Irisapo tafewe tasex uto pepug; Full coverage foundation

    ReplyDelete
  52. Loved the movie, but can't understand the fact that Josh's younger self is seen in the Further (suggesting his earthly body is possessed) while Josh agrees to go into the Further to fight the demons to get his son back (suggesting that Josh is his normal human self.) Can't wait for Insidious 2!

    ReplyDelete
  53. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  54. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  55. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  56. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  57. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome. I love to hear what you think, but racist, homophobic, or sexist comments will be deleted. It's not that kind of party. Also please take 2.5 seconds to come up with a screen name, posting as "anonymous" is so unimaginative.