Wednesday, May 25, 2011

INSIDIOUS

Over the years, I’ve seen literally hundreds of “haunted house”-themed horror films. Many were lackluster (Paranormal Activity), many were decent (The Amityville Horror), and many were actually quite good (Burnt Offerings). Regardless of how good and/or original they were, they always managed to pale in comparison to the seminal ghost film, Poltergeist – that is until I saw Insidious.

This tense, believable and well-researched horror film may have de-throned the Steven Spielberg-produced/Tobe Hooper-directed fright flick as the “greatest haunted house film”. A very impressive feat considering that its creators James Wan & Leigh Whannell (the talented creators of Saw and the criminally overlooked Dead Silence) managed to outdo one of the classics of modern day cinema widely considered to be one of the very best horror movies ever made.

Right from the beginning, Insidious grabs you with its depiction of typical American life. A family goes about their normal daily routine as odd things slowly begin to unfold one-by-one. A fall at home lands their young son in what appears to be a state of coma. Heartbroken, the close-knit family presses on. A series of unexplained events transpires and, when the frequency and intensity of these begin to escalate, the family decides to move. However, that is only the beginning of their problems as they soon realize that their son is not in a coma but, rather, has the ability to astral project (in essence, a sleepwalking spirit) and may have gone too far – opening the door for demons and evil spirits who are hell bent on destroying the entire family.

VERY scary, extremely entertaining, and relentlessly paced throughout, Insidious is a phenomenal movie which I cannot recommend highly enough. I NEVER jump or get unnerved during horror movies, but Insidious got to me. There are several moments that actually gave me some serious goosebumps and I was kept on edge through the entire film. For those that think the horror genre is dead or running out of fresh ideas, see Insidious. It will change your view of current horror movies – and, quite possibly, make you a believer in the paranormal. One of the greatest horror films in recent memory.

My Score: 10 out of 10

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you liked it!! I saw it twice, and jumped more the second time around even though I knew what was coming. It's so awesome to have a Hitchcock-type psychological thriller as opposed to the gory blood-n-guts we've been subjected to for so long.

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