Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Director: James Wan
This third teaming of James Wan, Patrick Wilson and a Haunting follows hot on the heels of their last collaboration; the summer hit The Conjuring and the first Insidious two years ago.
Wan has truly become a master of the Haunted House genre, He is able to deliver a quality horror film on the cheap (the first Insidious was made for 1.5 million while grossing 60 million). The secret being focus on the story; have a strong cast and utilizing great sound. This formula allows Wan to deliver consistent scares yet never relying on gore.
After dealing with scheduling issues Wan was able bring back the entire cast of the original film. Picking up right after the end of the first, we follow the further adventures of the Lambert Family and hope to resolve the cliffhanger ending of the original. Josh (Patrick Wilson) is experiencing some changes which causes concern for Renai (the always great Rose Byrne) which leads to exploring the childhood of the family patriarch.
The original “further” was a low tech way of creating something massive in a way that wouldn’t break the bank. The concept of bringing something back from the other side intentionally or unintentionally is intriguing with the time bending of the further being utilized as a great plot device.
While having some legitimate scares there is some humor from the ghost hunting duo of Specs (Insidious scribe Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Australian Powerhouse Angus Sampson). The only real sour note is the performance of Danielle Bisutti, as the Mother of Parker Crane it’s over the top bordering on camp. It takes more than some white makeup on a pretty face to send chills down this kids spine.
Given that this is the second movie in a couple of month from Wan and Patrick Wilson in the same genre the question will surely be asked multiple times which is better, The Conjuring or Insidious 2? the answer is simple it’s the Conjuring that had a true story going for it, a 70’s era setting and demonic forces while this is straight fiction. That’s not to take anything away from Insidious Chapter 2, it’s a solid entry in the franchise it builds upon the Lambert family lore and ties everything together.
Grade-84
