This film is more than just a horror, if it doesn't scare you that doesn't make it a bad film. Insidious is just as much about the story as it is the scares. It does a fantastic job of setting up a solid atmosphere, trying out new scare techniques while still dabbling in the tried-and-true methods of your typical jump scare.
This "sequel" is more of a natural continuation of the story. It picks up right where the first film left off and does the story real justice. It expands the mythology behind "The Further" while dealing with Josh's new-found possession. If you don't feel you can watch it for the scares then watch it for the story because it's a bloody good one.
One of my favourite things about this film is it's not only a sequel but also works it's way as a prequel too. It takes us right back to when Josh was a kid and how he first came into contact with the woman in black. Not only that but this film does a beautiful job of linking back to the unexplained scenes in the first film which, when experiencing that for the first time, is an absolute treat.
Don't listen to reviews saying it wasn't scary enough or it was worse than the first film. This is just the second chapter of the same story. It doesn't care for rehashing the first film but instead does something different. You don't discriminate between chapters of a book complaining one wasn't as scary as the other, one wasn't as good as the other. They're all chapters of the same story and work together to create this fantastic, whole story.
Insidious is just that. With the 3rd film confirmed it's clear that Insidious is one big story not just about the scares, not just about the Lambert family but instead the bigger picture is about "The Further" and the story behind it. The entities involved, whether they're parasites or demons.
If you liked the first film you'll love the second. It's still got the familiar atmosphere, the comic relief from Specs and Tucker, and even features a music score that takes inspiration from the first film's soundtrack while offering something to keep things feeling fresh.
I'm a sucker for a well-written story and the Insidious franchise is no exception. Leigh Whannell (who funnily enough, also plays the character Specs) does a great job in penning the screenplays. The story is fresh, exciting an after Insidious: Chapter 2 I feel fully confident in the Insidious series/franchise and am very much looking forward to full trilogy.
Whether this film scares you, makes you laugh or doesn't let you sleep.. you can't deny it's a solid, original story. Forget the labels and just enjoy the film for what it is. Really. Fucking. Good.
Too many big names involved in this show has kind of resulted in lots of mediocre people wanting to get involved too. The show has some really great points (the finale was definitely one of their best episodes) but it's also balanced out by plenty of poor points.
For example, there are some great writers who have written some of the better episodes while at the same time there are some laughably bad ones. Secondly, the character Charlie. She was poorly cast and can't act for shit which is a shame because by ignoring her parts the show's quality increases dramatically. The sudden fact that when they put her into the background of the show later in the season and the show became a lot better for most people.. is no coincidence. Casting a mediocre actor for a major role was a poor call on their part. If it was up to me though, they should have just scrapped the Charlie character all together.. although I may just be over-exaggerating due to the terrible writing for her character so far.
If you stick through to the end it's a great reward. I mean there are some great actors in this with interesting back stories (Tom, Bass, Rachel & Miles) and when the stories makes sense, they're done really well. With people like the director of Iron Man working on this there's plenty of talent, it's just that it's attracted some talentless people wanting a slice of the pie. Anyway, the finale was a great reward. Fantastic pay off. The show went back to the core story again and it's turned out to be pretty damn interesting. Also the great extras like being introduced to the Georgia Federation with their steam powered engines was brilliant as it showed that there are still wealthier countries who have made the most of the blackout. You can certainly tell when Eric Kripke's talent is showing (creator of Supernatural, worked on seasons 1-5).
There's plenty of shit episodes and boring characters but that's all balanced out by the amazing episodes and interesting characters played by some amazing actors. Not worth getting on Blu Ray/DVD but definitely worth watching. Especially considering what the finale left us with, looks like season 2 could be really great if they get rid of all the idiots who left their unwanted mark on season 1. Here's hoping.
