INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 Review

Remember "Insidious," that extremely clever (and truly terrifying) horror movie that came out of nowhere and gave audiences hope in the haunted house genre again? Well, also remember earlier this year when critics hailed that director James Wan (who's next signed on to direct "Fast & Furious 7") had delivered again with his "The Conjuring," which received rave reviews and dominated the box office?

Well, I've had the sad fate of seeing this director's other horror effort this year, shame on me. It's "Insidious: Chapter 2," everything the first chapter could've been and absolutely wasn't. This braindead, sorefully unscary follow-up is less a sequel than it is a perfect example of taking something good and dashing it to bits.

Things pick up exactly where the first one left off. Renai (Rose Byrne) and her husband, Josh (Patrick Wilson) have escaped their demon-ridled house and taken recluse at the no-less haunted estate of Josh's mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey). They know it's not the house that's haunted but they flee nonetheless. Last time it was their son's out-of-body demon inflicting evil onto the Lambert family. Who is it this time, you ask? Well, the options are limited and recall for a moment who entered that undead-filled dark realm they like to refer to as The Further.

The story here, which woefully follows last outing's comic relief for the duration of the film undercutting any and all frights, is a mess from start to finish. It clings to horror movie tropes and doesn't twist them in any fun or interesting way. Although there's no denying the film is handsomely shot, the use of a shaky handheld camera exploring an old, creepy hospital is borrowing from "Paranormal Activity" more than probably intended. And then not to mention "The Shining" in the film's other key plot device.

As I mentioned earlier, Wan is hanging up his horror directorial cap to move on to an action blockbuster. Good for him to get out while he can and let somebody else take over for the inevitably clunky third installment that the ending of "Chapter 2" so unabashedly promises.

My review of "Insidious"

YOUNG ADULT Review

The re-teaming of screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman proves "Juno" was no fluke. Their collaboration with "Young Adult" is inspired, a scalding black comedy about the queen bitch in high school and everyone's worst nightmare -- except now she's 37 and returning to her hometown. The movie is cynical and goes down like a sour shot, but it's the year's most unexpected surprise by breaking every rule in conventional Hollywood storytelling.

Mavis Gary is played by Charlize Theron in a ferocious and raw performance. She is a protagonist that is completely unlikable and unsympathetic. She is unpleasant, cruel, condescending, delusional and fueled by a keen sense of self-destruction. Yet what's so remarkable is the way Theron ever so casually makes us -- with the help of Cody's fearless writing -- feel for Mavis.

She is relatively successful having moved out of her Midwest town now living in an apartment in Minneapolis. She writes young adult novels for a popular series but really is just a ghostwriter -- and the series is no longer selling. Her apartment is a pigpen, she spends every night slamming back bourbon, every morning chugging liters of Diet Coke to cure hangovers and is destined to be single forever. And while she moved away and feels superior to anyone back home, she still puts more thought into them than she lets on. Then she receives a mass email from her high school sweetheart, Buddy (Patrick Wilson), who recently had a baby with his wife. Mavis immediately becomes obsessed with the idea of going home and stealing Buddy back.

When Mavis first gets into town, she has a run-in with Matt (Patton Oswalt), a chubby geek from high school whose life was ruined from being the target of a hate crime. The media paid attention to it until they found out he wasn't actually gay, just mistaken for being gay. Patton Oswalt's Matt is pivotal to the movie's success. He is the cushion for all of Mavis' impossibly reckless behavior and provides a perspective we can agree with. Well knowing the hilarity and absurdity of Mavis' pitch black predicament with Buddy, he also sees she is just as miserable as him even if she fails to realize it. We recognize a sadness that she doesn't know is there. She can think the only reason she's hanging out with Matt is because he's the only one in town, but in fact they share a connection.

"Young Adult" plays out in a series of incidents that will have you crawling in your skin. Patrick Wilson has a tough job as Buddy playing a really nice, well-meaning guy who's desperately trying to not to offend or embarrass Mavis. It is, in some ways, a better movie than "Juno." It's more complicated and a whole lot harsher placing Diablo Cody not just as pop-savvy but a screenwriter of importance. In Mavis we're watching a humiliating train wreck, but one that is treated with honesty. In such we can't help but derive a bit of truth out of it, and more than a few laughs.

INSIDIOUS Review

"Insidious" (2011)

The new horror film from "Saw" director James Wan, "Insidious," was produced by Oren Peli, the guy behind the "Paranormal Activity" phenomenon. It makes sense as this film has many similarities with the two "Paranormal Activity" installments which I admire equally; that is, things going bump in the night when they shouldn't be. Peli's horror sensation worked because it re-captured teen audiences' attention with slowly built-up tension and real scares when they were previously getting pummeled with the likes of "Saw" and "Hostel." Wan and his screenwriter Leigh Wannell's new horror entry "Insidious" does one better. It refines the tastes presented by "Paranormal Activity" escalating the contraption of a haunted house to even more skilled technique and trickery. It's as if James Wan wanted to fix what he started with "Saw" and the torture porn craze.

Renai (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Patrick Wilson) moved into a new home wanting to start a new life with their three kids. With piles of unpacked boxes and the family still trying to get everything together, things--of course--don't get any better. Enter the paranormal house guests. It starts with strange sounds, uncomfortable feelings of someone watching and a threatening voice from the baby monitor. Then their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) has an accident that puts him into a months-long coma. But it's no secret that whatever happened to Dalton was no real "accident."

Cracking under the pressure of dark visions and paranoia, Renai demands that she and her husband move the family to a new home. No such luck. Turns out that whatever's haunting them isn't just confined to their previous home, but rather, travels with them in their son Dalton. They decide to bring in a paranormal expert named Elise, played by a captivating and scene-stealing Lin Shaye, with her two hipster comic relief sidekicks.

What really gets "Insidious" under your skin is the expertly created atmosphere thanks to clever and unique camera work, lighting and set design. Not to mention the great music composed of shrieking, dissonant strings. In an exercise of unrivaled suspense, Elise performs a type of séance wearing an elaborate gas mask to communicate with the spirits haunting Dalton. They sit around a table lit low with a green lamp and bright flash bulbs popping behind them as the camera swiveling around the table. More impressive are the unsettlingly horrific images the movie brings to viewers that stay burned in the back of your mind; these images are reminiscent of "The Shining" and "The Ring" as the plot itself borrows greatly from "The Poltergeist" and "The Exorcist."

When the film enters the realm of "The Further"--which was its original title--things get delirious ramping up the spooky haunted house into a wild amusement park ride. But it never loses its subtle nuances of keeping those creepy demons and malevolent afterlife spirits the primary focus of fright.