At the end of the first film, Josh who is played by Patrick Wilson, had managed to find his son in the further. The further is kind of a after world where souls who have not moved on reside in. Josh finds his son who was believed to be in a coma, and brings him back to his body so he can wake up. Josh however does not make it back into his body, a evil spirit who has been following him all his life manages to take control of it while he is gone. That spirit then wakes up, now inhabiting Josh, and kills the Ghost Hunter Elise. Elise was the one who was helping the family save their son, and was a threat to the evil spirit. The final scene in the movie was the wife standing over Elise, and finding the proof that the spirit had inhabited her Husband. The movie closed with him seeing her, and then her screaming. We assumed she was now dead to, however we were wrong.
This movie starts off right where the other left off, but we get more details. The wife did see the evidence, but she thought the spirit simply materialized along side her Husband. She does not at first know he is now possessed. Her Husband is being investigated for Murder, since he was the last one with the victim. Other then that though, everything seems to be fine at first. They believe they are no longer being haunted. We quickly find out however that is not the case, and the movie picks up and takes off into the further.
One thing I really enjoyed about the first movie was the pacing, it was perfect. Slow build up, with minimal scares or spirit activity in the beginning. We were not overwhelmed with the spirits, and it made them more intense when we did seem them. The movie built upon that, until it got up to full speed, and then just never really slowed down again. This movie however, the pacing just seemed off. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it did seem to falter in a few places. Unlike the first film, this one was very forthcoming with the spirits. There is a almost origin story early on in the film. It shows Josh as a child, and when Elise first visited him to try and get rid of the Evil Spirit that haunted him. We don't see much, but we get our first attack, and some background info on why this is happening to his family. From there though the movie never really slows down. While it does work for it, I felt it lost a lot of suspense. You always knew when something would happen.
Speaking of Origin stories, this movie basically fits that role. In the first movie we heard bits and pieces about Josh as a child. But we never got the full story of what happened. This movie has scenes from back then, and even gives us info on who the spirit is. We get to know who they are, and why they are attached to Josh specifically. We learn about their past, and why they are so intent on killing people. It was actually kind of neat finding everything out. In the first movie you never cared about it, but seeing them work everything out in this one really paid off. Some of the best scenes are when the ghost hunters and Josh's Mother are hunting down the info. The movie felt so different from the first one, and I really enjoyed the new approach. Also it gave two of my favorite characters from the first film a bigger role. Specks and Tucker, who played Elise's assistant,s are every bit as humorous in this film as the last. They have some great moments, and a little comedy helps the film out greatly.
Speaking of Origin stories, this movie basically fits that role. In the first movie we heard bits and pieces about Josh as a child. But we never got the full story of what happened. This movie has scenes from back then, and even gives us info on who the spirit is. We get to know who they are, and why they are attached to Josh specifically. We learn about their past, and why they are so intent on killing people. It was actually kind of neat finding everything out. In the first movie you never cared about it, but seeing them work everything out in this one really paid off. Some of the best scenes are when the ghost hunters and Josh's Mother are hunting down the info. The movie felt so different from the first one, and I really enjoyed the new approach. Also it gave two of my favorite characters from the first film a bigger role. Specks and Tucker, who played Elise's assistant,s are every bit as humorous in this film as the last. They have some great moments, and a little comedy helps the film out greatly.
Another high point of the first film was the Atmosphere. The way it was shot, the music, the look of the sets. Everything just contributed to the overall vibe of the film. This one was no different, and once again nailed that dark, creepy vibe. The house they live in, looks like it was designed solely to scare you. Low lighting, a Red window pain that creates a effect no sane person would have in their house. Not to mention old houses are already kind of creepy. Add in some great music and audio, and you are ready to go. As with the first film, the camera work was well done, and really added to the overall feel of the film. Watching a spirit float from one room into the next as the camera pans from the hall way for example. It uses focus points that look like something you would be doing in real life. Other times they use odd angels I would have never thought off, but they create a effect that works well in the film. When the police are interviewing the wife, they are in a dark room with just the table lit up. The camera is very far back and slowly pulls into the room where they are sitting. There are no walls though, so it is as if the room is massive when we start off. During that scene the wife finds out her husband is the main suspect, and she starts to wonder if he is the killer. The way the scene is shot creates a effect of the room being cut off. It may have not been intentional, but to me it seemed like they were trying to recreate what was happening to the wife. It was as if everything was closing in on her, and it worked well. It is hard to explain, but the camera work adds to the emotion of the film at times.
The last thing that is really important about any movie in this genre, does it have scares? For me, it had plenty of jump scares. Startling moments that are usually set off by loud audio, or something quickly happening that catches you off guard. The atmosphere comes into play here, it really does its job of trying to keep you in the right mind set. So when something does happen, they tend to get a reaction from you. However I did not leave freaked out, I did not have trouble going to bed. Once it was over, it was over. I would say it had its moments, but overall not a very scarey movie. Still much like the first film, it does well with what it has. The story and other aspects of it more then make up for it.
Closing thoughts...We get a nice story that answers some questions from the first film. Good audio and camera work really add to the experience. The movie was always entertaining to me, and kept me interested in what was going on. Acting was still good, and the new roles fit well along side the established characters. While it was not a very scare heavy movie, it did have a few good jumps.In the end I really enjoyed the 2nd chapter of Insidious. I felt it fell short of the first film, but only slightly. It felt like a different movie, but it still fit into the overall story. I guess you can't really recreate the first film, without it feeling like a rip off. But I do still wish it had some sort of stand out moment like the first film. The seance for example was much more intense in the first film. And that Devil monster was far creepier then anything we get in this movie. Still it was a solid movie, and one that felt worth the money I spent on the ticket.
Closing thoughts...We get a nice story that answers some questions from the first film. Good audio and camera work really add to the experience. The movie was always entertaining to me, and kept me interested in what was going on. Acting was still good, and the new roles fit well along side the established characters. While it was not a very scare heavy movie, it did have a few good jumps.In the end I really enjoyed the 2nd chapter of Insidious. I felt it fell short of the first film, but only slightly. It felt like a different movie, but it still fit into the overall story. I guess you can't really recreate the first film, without it feeling like a rip off. But I do still wish it had some sort of stand out moment like the first film. The seance for example was much more intense in the first film. And that Devil monster was far creepier then anything we get in this movie. Still it was a solid movie, and one that felt worth the money I spent on the ticket.
Thinking about the movie more, the creepiest part was by far the way they dubbed over young Elise's voice with Old Elise. I guess you can find a actress that appears to be the younger version of somebody, but getting one that also sounds similar is to much. It makes sense that they would do it that way, but seeing her lips not really match up just felt unsettling.
Also I should probably address this movie vs the conjuring. Both are in theaters still, both are horror, and both have Patrick Wilson in them. Good on him for sticking to a genre, he does well in these roles. I believe I gave Conjuring a 4, and to be honest I almost did the same with this film. I do not do half stars, but if I did this would have been a 3.5. Both movies were good, and both had some decent jumps. But I still feel the Conjuring gets a slight upper hand, simply because it was based off of true events. For me that just makes more more intense, because parts of it were considered factual. So if you are heading to the theater, and want some horror goodness. I would still toss my vote in for the Conjuring over this, but really either should be up to the task.
Also I should probably address this movie vs the conjuring. Both are in theaters still, both are horror, and both have Patrick Wilson in them. Good on him for sticking to a genre, he does well in these roles. I believe I gave Conjuring a 4, and to be honest I almost did the same with this film. I do not do half stars, but if I did this would have been a 3.5. Both movies were good, and both had some decent jumps. But I still feel the Conjuring gets a slight upper hand, simply because it was based off of true events. For me that just makes more more intense, because parts of it were considered factual. So if you are heading to the theater, and want some horror goodness. I would still toss my vote in for the Conjuring over this, but really either should be up to the task.
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