Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Half stale Horror, half engaging atmosphere and story.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 24, 2013

"PG-13 Horror" may be the most terrifying combination of letters and numbers in all of cinema. Rather than hardcore gore or truly frightening themes, PG-13 Horror movies more often than not rely on jump scares, big and sudden musical cues, and other tired elements to "terrify" audiences. Insidious: Chapter 2 is no exception. It's better than most of its kind, saved by a decent atmosphere, the return of characters from the original (and much better) movie, and a few good, albeit needlessly convoluted, ideas sprinkled into its second half. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie proves a rather tired, exhausting slog through classic, and overused, tame scare tactics meant to jolt the audience, not raise hairs and make the soul quiver in the manner of classic horror. It's difficult to recapture the magic of a rather good Horror movie in its sequel. Director James Wan and Writer Leigh Whannell, returning to duty from the first, flirt with excellence, at times, but cannot help but rely far too much on the safety net of overused cliché, even as it's intermixed with the series' good story and well-developed characters.

Closer to the truth in The Further.

Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson), his wife Renai (Rose Byrne), and their children have left their old house and moved in with Josh's mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey). Josh is the prime suspect in a death, but that will soon become the least of the Lambert family's concerns. Before the family has even settled into its new abode, Renai begins experiencing classic paranormal activity. She hears mysterious sounds and witnesses electronic objects turning themselves on. Josh fruitlessly attempts to reassure her. Instead of ignoring the problem and trusting that Josh is right, she brings in paranormal experts Carl (Steve Coulter), Specs (Writer Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson) to help her sort through the terror. Their investigation unearths disturbing truths about the family's history and the danger it faces today across two very different dimensions.

Below is a written journey through the tone-setting first ten minutes of Insidious: Chapter 2:

• Typical Horror high-pitched, shrieking strings open. Yawn.
• The faux-creepy "old house shown at a skewered ground-level angle." Been there, seen that.
• "Things tend to happen when it gets dark." Yes, like cliché in Horror movies.
• Strange shapes on photographs that shouldn't be there. Oooooohhhh.....
• "Something in this house" doesn't want a character in the house. Something in the movie doesn't want the audience in the theater, either.
• The "I'm scared and know crazy stuff is about to go down look" transitions to the "all is well, not-so-reassuring smile." Thanks for the try.
• Dreams can be scary. This movie, apparently, cannot.
• A scene with candles, deep music, and a hypnosis. Blah.
• "She" is here. Never mind, it's that audience member who wants her money back.
• A game of "hot or cold" via walkie-talkie and between a medium and a hypnotized boy to find the demon in the house. OK, credit where it's due: that's fairly original and cool.
• A door opens by itself, slowly, and with the familiar rickety, squealing sound. Really?
• A "hiss" and big crashing sounds. Way to rely on manufactured scares.
• An utterance of "oh my god." It won't be the last for that Horror staple.
• A boy in a trance points to a door, and, again, it opens by itself, slowly, and with the familiar rickety, squealing sound. Again, really?
• Loud, harsh, wannabe-scary strings accompany the movie's title in blood-red letters. There hasn't been a "blah" recently, so "blah."

That's fourteen ways in fifteen moments that Insidious: Chapter 2 annoys with an overload of cliché in its opening minutes. To be fair, the movie comes back full circle later and explains some of it away, and the explanation is fine and works in the plot and the established Insidious universe. Yet when a character mutters, "so that's what that was about" as much to the audience as to the other characters -- as if the audience couldn't figure that out or piece beginning and end together -- it harms the scene in the immediate and hampers the "wow" factor that the scene, and the greater film, was building towards. Indeed, things improve after a first half that is almost entirely built around scenes of a character wandering through the house as "strange things" continue to occur, every one of them built on the jump scare/loud music combination crutch. Even as the film does its best to redeem itself later on, that's just far too much cliché in too short a time to bear.

On the plus side, Insidious: Chapter 2 does handle that cliché rather well. Director James Wan and DP John Leonetti have constructed a rather moody, enveloping experience that's certainly hurt by the abundance of cliché but not destroyed by it as a lesser film might. At its best, this is a slick, high end Horror production, a moody picture that accelerates in its second half and certainly builds a story Insidious fans will be eager to see. Yet that's another problem. The film doesn't just work with the material introduced in the last film, it demands its audience be intimately familiar with it all, with the characters, plot specifics, and world nuance all. This is certainly not a non-fan-friendly sequel. It picks up immediately where the last film left off (beyond its opening ten minutes) and digs deeply into series lore thereafter. The plot grows a bit convoluted for the casual or first-time-series viewer, but it holds its own well enough to make for, at least, a moody and entertaining experience if one can get beyond the overexposure of basic genre elements. The film does wonders with how it works both the living and the dead into both this and the "Further" universe, mixing the two bravely and intelligently in a rather intense final act.

Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Insidious: Chapter 2 features an excellent 1080p transfer. Sony's HD video-sourced presentation is clean, accurate, and very well defined. Detail is strikingly natural, even under a slightly smooth veneer. Facial features appear complex, clothing reveals intimate lines, and all of the peripheral elements around the house look fantastic. Even in the film's darkest, most shadowy areas, image clarity remains incredible and details rich. The same may be said of color. While brighter scenes reveal the most robust shades, notably on brightly colored plastic baby toys and dishes, even those lower-light and warmer house interiors or very dark shots in "The Further" show off colors as natural as can be under the conditions. The image reveals rock-solid, deep, and natural blacks and accurate flesh tones. There's minimal, barely-noticeable banding and no excess levels of noise. This is a terrific presentation from Sony.

Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Insidious: Chapter 2 may be awash in cliché sound effects and musical cues, but the technical presentation thereof is terrific. The big, shrieking strings are presented with just as much accuracy and room-filling presence as the deep, disturbing bass. Through the entire range the track impresses and no matter how loud or nuanced the music, the track presents it with wide, enveloping spacing and live orchestral clarity. Moody sound effects are also nicely implemented, and the track takes advantage of every channel in its arsenal, sending information to all corners of the listening area. The Blu-ray is certainly a demonstration of the power of dynamic range and sound placement. Dialogue plays accurately and evenly from the center. Horror fans are going to love listening, at least from a purely technical perspective.

Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Insidious: Chapter 2 contains an honest array of extra content. Fans will be disappointed by the absence of a commentary track. With optional English subtitles.

• Peripheral Vision: Behind the Scenes (HD, 15:23): A look at the process of continuing immediately after the last film, crafting the story line, defining some of the characters who play more prominent roles in this picture, the numerous elements in "The Further," the many ways the films tie together beyond mere story continuance, the process of making things scary and the importance of supplemental mood, the return of cast and crew, shooting various scenes, the film's visual style and costumes, prop construction, and more.
• Ghostly Transformations (HD, 7:19): A detailed look at ghost and human makeup and practical visuals with Makeup Department Head Eleanor Sabaduquia and Special Makeup Effects Department Head Justin Raleigh.
• Leigh Whannell's Insidious Journal (HD, 7:44): Whannell discusses his dual life on the set and speaks with other performers in this lightly humorous piece.
• Haunted Hospital: On Location (HD, 8:51): LA Paranormal Association's Brian Patrick and Layla Halfhill guide audiences through the "haunted" history of the Linda Vista hospital and recount their journey through the hospital with the filmmakers.
• Work in Progress: On Set Q&A (HD, 23:30): Barbara Hershey, Patrick Wilson, Jason Blum, Leigh Whannell, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and James Wan (who appears later in the piece) field a number of audience questions.
• Insidious: Spectral Sightings (HD, 12:19 total runtime): Three "webisodes" that support the film.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• DVD Copy.
• UV Digital Copy.

Insidious: Chapter 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Insidious: Chapter 2 is a classic "mixed bag" motion picture. On one hand is a movie that might not hold its audience beyond the first half, a first half of genre staple excess. On the other hand is a film that seamlessly continues its story from the first film, builds smartly on it, and creates a very moody and highly effective atmosphere beyond reliance on jump scares and all of the big Horror string and crashing musical notes. Fans of the first film will enjoy it, but newcomers might be put off by both the film's assumption of deep universe and character understanding and heavy doses of cliché. Sony's Blu-ray release of Insidious: Chapter 2 features gorgeous video and terrific audio. A nice assortment of extras give shape to a rather good package. Recommended to series fans, and newcomers should definitely begin with Insidious first.