Insidious

Description

Product Description From the makers of Paranormal Activity, INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted. desertcart.com For most of its first half, Insidious creeps along in top form as a classical haunted house movie, seething with chilling riffs and cinematic idioms that embrace the best elements of the genre. Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (the cocreative team that unleashed the Saw franchise onto unsuspecting moviegoers in 2004) create a genuine sense of foreboding that many audiences may experience as the kind of imagery vaguely recalled from actual nightmares. Shadowy figures are glimpsed behind curtains or are barely visible through darkened windows, with the tension building from something that is only halfway there. Or maybe that something is all the way there and we just can't make it out clearly enough through the haze of our gathering dread. There aren't any cheap thrills or phony scares; the menacing tone is measured and well earned and doesn't have to rely on things jumping out of the darkness. The terror often comes from what we don't see, or rather what we're afraid we're about to see. It's a simple story about a young family--Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) and their three small children--settling into a new home. Again following classical form, there's a presence in the house that either doesn't want them there, or needs them to stay for the evilest possible reasons. When 8-year-old Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls into an unexplained coma after a spooky encounter in the attic, Renai starts seeing the above-mentioned figures lurking around the house, sometimes none too subtly. Though the goings-on are unexplainable, no one acts crazy and Josh believes that his wife's bizarre encounters are real. Like any sensible people who believe they've taken up residence in a haunted house, they move. But the spookiness moves with them and the menace gets worse as months pass and Dalton remains unconscious without reasonable medical cause. Since things can't stay unexplained forever, the plot begins to intrude, especially when a geeky pair of paranormal investigators (Angus Sampson and writer Leigh Whannell) provide some slightly out-of-kilter comic relief. Fortunately their boss (Lin Shaye) is a bona fide psychic who's all business, and she determines that the ghosts, or demons, or whatever they are want Dalton, not the house or its other inhabitants. As the explanations continue, it's revealed that the little boy has the gift of astral projection and his spirit has left his body without really knowing it's gone. If he doesn't come back soon he'll be lost forever, taken by the strongest of the creepy phantoms, a blood-red fiend who provides the most terrifying moments of half-glimpsed horror. It turns out that Dalton inherited his gift from Dad, who has repressed his own childhood encounters with out-of-body flight, but must revisit the dark limbo where all the specters lurk in order to reunite his son's body and soul. All this narrative sometimes gets in the way of the sinister unknowns that started the story, but there are still plenty of frights to maintain a consistently disturbing tone (and without a drop of blood or gore). Wan and Whannell preserve the less-is-more strategy to fine effect, honoring the legacy of a timeless horror style while ably stamping it with their own unique imprimatur. Whether or not you have a personal history of nightmares, there are plenty of willies to go around in the eerie confines of Insidious--an apt title for a movie whose ideas and images invade the mind with scary and spectral imagination. --Ted Fry Review: An updated version of an old-fashioned ghost story - A film like "Insidious" makes it look easier than it is for most filmmakers. It's, at its core, an old-school ghost story done with such modern flair . . .from everything to writing, acting, casting, score, cinematography, sound, and special effects, that it leaves me to wonder why more filmmakers can't make horror films this superbly. I am a jaded horror fan. Horror fans are like drug addicts...we keep chasing the cherry high. "Insidious" by description sounds like a story we have seen a thousand times. Young couple buys first house, nice kids, lots of high hopes for the future, all of which is wrecked by a pesky haunting. "Insidious" takes these tired ingredients and gives them more than a facelift...it has set a new bar for this sub-genre. Patrick Wilson (Little Children, Hard Candy) and the lovely Rose Byrne (TV's "Damages", "Get Him to the Greek", "Knowing") star as the young, idealistic couple, Josh and Raneigh, who find themselves plunged into a nightmare when they come to believe their house is haunted and means them harm as their 7 year old son ends up in an unexplained coma after a ghost encounter. Josh's mother (played by the aging ever gracefully Barbara Hershey) brings in a psychic to investigate (another cliche), but what again, sets this apart is the panache brought to the character by Lin Shaye, a terrific character and stage actress. She believes Dalton (the little boy) is a gifted astral-projector who has ventured too far away from his body. I won't explain more so as not to spoil the twists, but the ensuing action is as terrifying as movies get. Director James Wan, who cut his teeth on the original "Saw", infuses the films with energy, tension and unbearable suspense. My heart was pounding through most of the film. Did I mention there is a rather terrifying demon lurking about the house? "Insidious" was made on a shoestring budget of only $1 million. You would never know it in looking at the value per dollar on the screen. First-rate actors, superb art direction and special effects, it looks like a $40 million film. This gave Wan tremendous freedom to make the movie he wanted to make and the results are truly unnerving. The movie has an uncommon intelligence...this is a couple that actually talks to each other and believes each other, where lesser movies hang the plot on this communication not happening. I especially liked the fact that after a few incidents at their first home, they move. This usually harkens the end of the film. Instead, to the sickening realization of our characters and we the audience, the ghosts follow them, as it is not the house which is haunted, but the boy. The characters make logical decisions making them easy to indetify with and enormously likable. It helps to have actors of Wilson and Byrne's caliber. I was riveted to this film, and if you're a fan of ghost stories, especially those which rely on atmosphere, story and suspense over blood and guts, you will be richly rewarded and long haunted even after the credits roll. This is superior film, well worth purchasing. I recommend the Bluray version strongly to see the nuanced details in the art direction and the perfect replication of the original photography. Extras are light, which is disappointing, but the film more than makes up for it. *Also available on Netflix streaming. Review: One genuinely made classic horror in a long time (movie review) - As a horror fan, I always look for something that is genuinely scary (not something that turns out to be ridiculous). As many others have pointed out, Insidious is one such authentic horror movie that has all the elements of classic horror and no nonsense. Here is a summary what it has- Texture-Perfect texture and tone for a horror. Dark, at times foggy atmosphere, quiet house, spooky attic, you name it, and the movie has it all. Acting- Realistic characters, not extremists (believer female v/s non-believer male). Everyone has played their role well. Music- One of the best for horrors. perfect timing, well-balanced highs and lows, and cool jolts. Story- Very conceivable story. Everything has been explained in the movie, so you don't end up in saying WT* at the end. Of all the horror movies I have seen so far, this is the first time I have seen this concept and I liked it(its not just a haunted house or a possessed body). The script supports the story well. The director has kept everything so cohesively,that the movie neither loses its grip, nor gets boring anywhere. Wonderful flow from beginning to end! There is only one drawback I felt. The fact that the evil creatures show up in the second half of the movie slightly dilutes the overall creeepy effect. I am sure it would have been a lot more spooky if they would have adapted the Paranormal activity style (where the fear originates mainly through your imagination, not because of a scary face). I think in today's era, with so much awareness about filmmaking and advanced technology in general, its obvious for everyone to imagine that the 'ghosts' are none but artists with appropriate makeup. Hence, shadows can scare you more than the actual guy standing right in front of you. That's the only point where the movie drops a little. However, considering the fact that the crew has managed to create an authentic horror flick using all the classical elements (minus all the nonsense that is generally seen in today's movies), Insidious deserves a big applaud. It's not easy to scare people living in 2011 with the old school elements of 70's, but this movie does it, and does it in an excellent way, without compromising on any of the vital elements of a horror flick. Although I like innovations like paranormal activity, I still like to see the classical (and genuine horror). Of all the movies I have seen recently, Insidious is definitely an instant classic of the genre. If you are a horror fan, this has to be in your collection.