Insidious has been recommended to me by several people ever since it was released. To be quite honest, every time that I have stumbled across the title in the video rental store (or browsing through Netflix titles) I have passed it with barely a second glance. Why? To be honest…because of the cover – the one of the kid that reminds me of the movie The Omen. Every time I see it, even now after watching the film, I still think of it as a Damian-want-a-be. Yes. I can be that shallow to judge something by the promotional art attached to it.
So when a friend recommended I include it for my 31 Days of Horror I thought I may as well watch it before dismissing it out of turn. And I must say that I’m glad that I did.
As soon as I hit play I was hooked. The film starts off with creepy shots of an empty house while the credits flash on the screen all to the screeching soundtrack reminiscent of Dario Argento and ‘70’s horror films. My spine tingled with anticipation!
The movie is about a couple who move into a new home only to suspect shortly after living there that the home may be haunted. They leave and move into a new home only to have the same instances occur. It isn’t until several circumstances occur that they find out it isn’t their home, it is their son who is haunted.
I don’t want to give too much away on this because when it comes to movies about hauntings you really just need to watch it and any detail could destroy the whole atmosphere of the film. Many critics of the film have remarked on the movie consisting of two parts. In the first half, we have your classic haunting with the creepy music, shadowy figures, doors that open on their own setting off the alarms and fragments of strange dreams. The next part is where it gets a little weird.
The introduction of the investigative duo, Specs and Tucker, adds a little bit of comic relief to the film. At a time where it was getting a bit heavy, in walk these two cracking jokes and using converted toys to scan for supernatural elements.
I will admit I liked the beginning a bit more than the end. I did enjoy the comic duo and Elise (the psychic); it was the strange dream world of The Further that I didn’t quite buy into and I kept thinking of a cheap imitation of the movie The Cell. The ending had its typical twist (I really would like to watch a modern horror movie that didn’t try to apply the “gotcha” principal at the end) and of course we are left with an opening for a sequel.
Out of the many horror films released today, I felt this one should be included within the ranks of the classics for the simple fact that you do not need gore to make a scary movie. By using techniques of the master filmmakers we have a modern haunting that is worthy of watching more than once and making us double check the closets and under the bed for the boogie man.
For the true geeks out there, you will enjoy a few items that were placed in the film for your enjoyment. There is a scene where Josh is dismissing his class and on the chalkboard behind him we see a drawing of the infamous puppet from the movie Saw, also written by Leigh Whannell. The director’s name is written on the chalkboard (underlined twice) along with the names of the hairstylist and the hair department head. The writer, Leigh Whannell, plays the role of Specs, and Tucker makes several comments to him about getting great ideas to write about. For Neil Gaiman and Sandman fans, you will recognize the mask that Elise wears at the séance as she enters the dreamworld…
Well that’s enough rambling for now. If you haven’t seen this movie yet I recommend you add it to your list. If you have watched it, I hope you agree that this is modern film making with a nod to the classics (despite the oddities at the end).
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