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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Insidious


When you think about it, horror is a tricky genre to get right. How hard is it to scare, I mean genuinely scare people? The line between something terrifying and something that is unintentionally funny is sometimes hard to traverse. Of course some films use this to their advantage, ranging from "The Evil Dead" series, to "Shaun of the Dead" to "An American Werewolf in London" right up to "Drag Me To Hell"; a film that shares a few parallels with "Insidious". It's a difficult balance and one that "Insidious" never fully commits to throughout its running time. For most of it, the film is a deliberately creepy and deliciously unnerving jaunt through a haunted house; a sub-genre I haven't seen in a few years. And yet, as atmospheric and tense as it gets, there are moments in this which are decidedly more eccentric than the average horror cinema goer might like. This is by no means a bad thing; in fact it was something I was lapping up throughout. For two thirds, the film is by far, one of the better shockers I have seen in recent memory. But then the dreaded third act curse happened. This is something I cannot fathom when it rears its ugly head. Simply put, this film had me. I was prepared to let myself jump and squirm along with the audience, and loving where it was bringing me. But the problem with these types of horrors, is that they have to inevitably explain where the danger and spiritual threat is coming from. And so the film succumbs to three of the things that always render any horror film unscary, in my opinion. It tells us where the menace is coming from, why, and then shows us what it is. Things hidden and barely hinted at will always go farther in audiences head, than anything film makers can explain or show us. Which brings me back to my point; where the film more at ease with its humour, the ending could have worked better. You see when the film decided to forgo any of its mystery then the oddity of where the film takes us would have delivered had it utilised some of its more humourous undertones. Rather than this almost-great horror film we have here; something far more annoying than any bad film could ever be. Like a loved one, this film had won my trust and respect. I cared about its characters and story. Then it betrayed me. This is far worse than a film I never held any feeling for could ever do.

The film is set with a young family moving into the 'house of their dreams'. Then small but strange things happen around the house. Things get moved, odd sounds are heard, and there are brief visions glimpsed. Suddenly, one of their children Dalton, goes into a coma. The Doctors don't seem to know what is wrong with him and he is not responding to anything. It seems he is just an empty vessel. As they bring their young child back home, more and more creepy doings occur, all the while sending the young couple, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) into an ever more frenzied state. When they turn to a medium (Lin Shaye) things get really scary. For most of its running time, the film effortlessly builds tension. Most of the fantastic shocks and jumps that happen nearly all land because the film has earned them. The cast all help sell the scares as the talented Wilson and Byrne have a track record of doing. However credit where credit is due, the films success is down to director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, the duo best known for creating the "Saw" franchise. Now while I was never a fan of any of those exercises in gore, I was most pleasantly surprised that they both eschew from any violence or viscera to help the scares in this film. They rely on atmosphere, and the film works wonders because of this. Littered throughout, is obvious, loving homages to their favourite horror films; a bit of Raimi here, a dollop of "The Shining", "Poltergeist" and "Susperia" there. It also is linked to producer Oren Pelis "Paranormal Activity", of which he himself wrote and directed, and something which I'm sure was a friendly source of rivalry on set. Put simply, when this film is good, it more than delivers on shocks. But then that ending happens.

These guys know their horror and have proved that they know how to do it without relying on gore effects and elaborate and overly confusing/nonsensical plotting. The film is pleasingly simple. It follows a nice line of atmospheric set up-jump-laugh-rinse and repeat formula. Before it is fully revealed, it has a great demon antagonist who is after Daltons body. But then the creators go too far into their retro homaging. Put simply, some might not like the slightly cheesy, smoke machine infused and dimly lit world they bring us into for the films climax. It is a misjudged step too far. I know for me, it spoiled everything that had gone before it. This is a huge shame. "Insidious" had a great chance at being one of my favourite recent horror films, something that is few and far between nowadays. The cast all deliver, and the film has the best scares you may see all year, but it is the director/writers own instincts, which hamstrings them.

Verdict: 6/10
For two thirds of its running time this is a fantastic throughback haunted house movie. Pity it doesn't stay true to its initial set up for the denouement. That which is in the shadows is always going to be more scary, than anything that is revealed.

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