Insidious Movie Review

It's been some time for a horror film to actually accomplish its goals – to scare the hell outta the audience. Insidious accomplishes while giving us a fresh new perspective on haunted houses.

The film starts with a family moving into a seemingly normal house, But even when everything is seemingly normal, the grating score and gray colour palette is just enough to suggest something evil is lurking right around the corner. Still, director James Wan seizes the opportunity to pull you in and make you earnestly invested in Josh and Renai’s situation wasting no time in doing so. We do get quite a bit of character development in the first portion of the piece, but not at the expense of a drastic amount of the film’s running time and, before you know it, you’re deeply submerged in the nightmare this family is living through.

This film will bury you deep in your seat and make you extremely anxious and paranoid. It’s a very similar sensation here that many had with Paranormal Activity or Nightmare on Elm Street, but minus the visual gimmick. Each block of scary material is seamlessly interwoven into the family's daily life, making the tonal shift that much more terrifying.

While still successful, Insidious does hit a few bumps in the road as it crosses its midpoint and approaches the third act. It’s one thing to give an audience a good scare, but it’s another to explain that scare’s source. No, writer Leigh Whannell doesn’t make it totally believable, but thanks to the strong build-up, you’re more than willing to go along with the show.

There are a few comical moments in the film that revolve around the ghost hunters. The ghost hunters are stereotypical and offer moments of relief from the frightening scenes and scares. There are some other moments that I am assuming were not to be laughed-out-loud at - the psychic uses a gas mask to communicate with the other side, and the use of Tiny Tim's Tiptoe Through The Tulips (OK Maybe that IS scary.)


From a technical standpoint, Wan and his crew nail just about everything. From the moment the film starts, Joseph Bishara wastes no time letting you know his original music is there and continues to do so throughout the film. Yes, it’s quite intrusive, but appropriately so. As for the visuals, they’re disturbingly striking. Cinematographers David M. Brewer and John R. Leonetti do a fantastic job making use of the houses’ eerie features even when the sun is shining allowing the film to maintain its, well, insidious tone. Meanwhile, the costume and makeup departments are responsible for the striking imagery.

Scary dreams or reality?

Overall, Insidious is a fresh story that is woven quite well in the first two acts, however, toward the end, when the reveal is made as to what is happening, we are left a little less scared. That is ultimately due to the fact that we are scared of the unknown more than anything. Once we know the source of the haunting, we tend to be relieved.

One of the ghost hunters drawing what the psychic sees in the house.

This is true for an actual ghost investigation. The unknown that families face can certainly be frightening, but once one is familiar with the source of the haunting and even the acknowledgement from someone in the field that indeed, their story is to be believed, the fear is gone.


Only in Hollywood movie scripts does the fear persist and invade our minds. Enjoy the Insidious Movie Trailer Below: