Director: James Wan
Release Date: 2010
Running Time: 1hr 42 minutes
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 15
Seen On: Blu-Ray
Synopsis:
A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their child in a realm called the further.
A horror film is essentially a movie that seeks to provoke a psychological reaction, to induce fear upon us. Unfortunately, horror movies over the years have relied heavily on jump scares as a means to frighten their audience. Director James Wan did something really quite extraordinary when he made this picture, he managed to somehow merge the paranormal with the real world, as if the two were the same thing. Back in 2004, James Wan produced one of the biggest slasher horror movies to date, "Saw", a story about the fight for survival, the only way out, is to fight your way out, to escape. What if, our world and another world came together, creating a new dimension? What if, your fight for survival was to find home, to find your body, your soul? Insidious will take you into a world, that you may not realise has the potential to actually exist.
After recently moving into their new home, the Lambert family start to notice that something isn't quite right. Personal items dissapear, Renai and Josh (Wilson) start hearing bizarre noises coming from their attic, but more frighteningly, they believe their house is haunted. Convinced, they hire the help of psychic, Elise Rainier. The story is so much more than ghosts and demons. Don't be fooled by the plot, the premise behind the storyline is exceptionally clever. The first thing that caught my eye was how different this is in comparison to other movies of the same genre. I was generally blown away the first time I viewed it. The storyline will have you questioning your own existence. Are we capable of so much more than we realise? The concept is not only clever but deeply fascinating.
One of the most disappointing aspects about the film is the lack of character development. The characters are very black and white, although every character plays a vital role in the development of the story, Lin Shaye is the only actor to really give her all with her performance as Elise. Patrick Wilson delivers a good performance as Josh Lambert, as the story progresses, the more you truly start to understand Josh and the premise behind the story. Rose Byrne could most certainly have given a better performance as Renai Lambert, although her acting is convincing at times, for the vast majority of the film, her performance is very wooden. On a more positive note, Leigh Whannell who wrote the story, stars in the film as Elise's psychic sidekick Specs. Offering just the right amount of humour to the story, without ruining it.
Director James Wan is very clever when it comes to giving audiences hints of what's to come, without actually spoiling the plot. The colour red for example is very prominent throughout the course of the film. It'll crop up everywhere. It particularly stands out because Wan has made sure to use only neutral and dark colours for everything else, the sky is always gloomy and grey, Renai and Josh's clothing are creams, browns and greys. The cushion on their sofa however is bright red. Why? You'll soon find out upon viewing and when you do have the situation explained, you'll understand that Wan was sending hints, straight from the get go. The special effects are simple, but clever. The lighting is excellent and really gives a eery feeling, particularly in the second chapter of the story.
James Wan has relied on jump scares, however he's also made sure to use the soundtrack to it's full effect in scaring audiences. Most jump scares will consist of a character jumping out on another, a chair falling over for example, the audience is startled suddenly. The idea to use the jump scare through sound rather than performance was a terrific idea. James Wan took a lot of risks when it came to making this film, however the story did not disappoint. Realistic, terrifying and wonderfully entertaining.
4.5/5
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