Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)
Official Synopsis
The haunted Lambert family searches for the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. As evil continues to follow them, they must turn to familiar allies to uncover the truth and finally free themselves from the demons pursuing them.
William’s Review
Insidious: Chapter 2 does something I wish more horror sequels would do. Instead of simply finding a new excuse to put the same characters through the same scares, it takes what happened in the first movie and finds a new way to look at it. The story picks up immediately after Insidious. The Lambert family may have survived their first trip into The Further, but whatever followed Josh back has created an entirely new problem. That continuation allows the movie to dig deeper into Josh and Elise’s histories while expanding the mythology surrounding The Further.
I especially like what the movie gives Patrick Wilson. Josh was already a strong character in the first film, but Wilson gets much more to play with here. There is a transformation happening that gives him the opportunity to show a very different side of Josh. The makeup helps sell that change without becoming so extreme that it overwhelms his performance. Rose Byrne is great again too. Renai spends much of the movie realizing that something is wrong while everyone around her gives her reasons to question what she is seeing.
The scares still work. There are more ghosts, creepy children’s toys, doors opening by themselves, and an abandoned hospital that immediately feels like somewhere nobody should ever enter. James Wan knows exactly how to use those familiar horror elements without making the movie feel like a repeat of the original.
What really elevates Chapter 2 is the way it connects to the first movie. There are moments and details that suddenly have new meaning once you understand what is happening here. I do not want to explain any of them because discovering those connections is part of the fun.
Sequels often try to go bigger. Insidious: Chapter 2 goes deeper. It expands the mythology, gives its characters more history, and finds clever ways to make the original movie better at the same time.
I especially like what the movie gives Patrick Wilson. Josh was already a strong character in the first film, but Wilson gets much more to play with here. There is a transformation happening that gives him the opportunity to show a very different side of Josh. The makeup helps sell that change without becoming so extreme that it overwhelms his performance. Rose Byrne is great again too. Renai spends much of the movie realizing that something is wrong while everyone around her gives her reasons to question what she is seeing.
The scares still work. There are more ghosts, creepy children’s toys, doors opening by themselves, and an abandoned hospital that immediately feels like somewhere nobody should ever enter. James Wan knows exactly how to use those familiar horror elements without making the movie feel like a repeat of the original.
What really elevates Chapter 2 is the way it connects to the first movie. There are moments and details that suddenly have new meaning once you understand what is happening here. I do not want to explain any of them because discovering those connections is part of the fun.
Sequels often try to go bigger. Insidious: Chapter 2 goes deeper. It expands the mythology, gives its characters more history, and finds clever ways to make the original movie better at the same time.
Amy’s Review
I thought horror sequels were supposed to get less scary. Apparently Insidious: Chapter 2 did not get that memo. I screamed enough during the first movie. William thinks I screamed even more during this one. I disagree, although he was sitting beside me and probably has a better idea of how much noise I was making. Either way, I ended the movie with a headache and needed Advil, so that probably tells you how relaxing this experience was.
We also watched this one inside instead of outside, which should have helped. It did not. I made us close the bedroom door because I was afraid something was going to come through it. Then I became afraid the closed door was going to open by itself because doors keep doing that in this movie. There was no winning.
James Wan also discovered several other things I hate. Creepy children’s toys are everywhere. There is an abandoned hospital with old wheelchairs sitting around. The houses have too many separate rooms where you cannot see what is happening around the corner. I have decided that if a house is not open concept, it is probably haunted.
The good news is that I was scared because the movie works. It does not feel like they took the first Insidious, changed a few details, and made us watch it again. We learn more about Josh, Elise, and the things haunting this family. Patrick Wilson also gets to do something very different this time, and he is really good at making you feel that something about Josh is not right. Rose Byrne is great again, especially because Renai knows something is wrong even when she cannot prove it.
My favorite part is how everything connects back to the first movie. There were several moments where I realized what the movie was doing and loved how everything fit together.
By the time we reached the end, I had retrieved my weighted blanket because apparently I needed emotional support and protection from anything that might try to get under the covers. I am not sure the blanket actually protects against The Further, but I felt better.
We also watched this one inside instead of outside, which should have helped. It did not. I made us close the bedroom door because I was afraid something was going to come through it. Then I became afraid the closed door was going to open by itself because doors keep doing that in this movie. There was no winning.
James Wan also discovered several other things I hate. Creepy children’s toys are everywhere. There is an abandoned hospital with old wheelchairs sitting around. The houses have too many separate rooms where you cannot see what is happening around the corner. I have decided that if a house is not open concept, it is probably haunted.
The good news is that I was scared because the movie works. It does not feel like they took the first Insidious, changed a few details, and made us watch it again. We learn more about Josh, Elise, and the things haunting this family. Patrick Wilson also gets to do something very different this time, and he is really good at making you feel that something about Josh is not right. Rose Byrne is great again, especially because Renai knows something is wrong even when she cannot prove it.
My favorite part is how everything connects back to the first movie. There were several moments where I realized what the movie was doing and loved how everything fit together.
By the time we reached the end, I had retrieved my weighted blanket because apparently I needed emotional support and protection from anything that might try to get under the covers. I am not sure the blanket actually protects against The Further, but I felt better.