Assuredly one of my favorite horror films of the year, it’s safe to say that director Wes Craven never stood a chance. With the creators of “Paranormal Activity” and “Saw” behind the horrific “Insidious” it was a safe bet a classic story about ghosts and goblins would do wonders over mere films about slashers and the modern internet age. One part “Poltergeist” and “Altered States,” and two parts “The Haunting,” director James Wans’ ghost story is the classic creaks by the stairs story about an average family who move in to a house and discover that the past residents of the house have decided they want to stay.
After the let down of “Scream 4,” I was admittedly very skeptical but found myself helplessly enamored by Wan’s ability to unfold a truly gut wrenching tale of a family at the mercy of an array of spirits, all of whom have their son at their mercy. What we find beyond the hauntings and residual sightings of apparitions is much more creative than most audiences would assume, and as writer Leigh Whanell delves in to the realms of astral plains, parallel dimensions and a world called The Further where the goriest and worst apparitions you can imagine reside in an attempt to gain access in to our world.
Unlike the previous “Dead Silence” from Wan, “Insidious” actually hosts something of a clever premise and one that can not be taken as a mere ghost story. The cast pull in amazing performances, particularly in the field of Lyn Shaye who is wonderful as the ghost hunter Elise who channels the spirits before her clients very eyes and makes it her mission to save the son of the young couple who is being held hostage in The Further.
With nods to “Poltergeist,” the third half is devoted to character Elise and her two respective ghost researchers Tucker and Specs looking for their own apparitions and stumble in to one grand scheme of evil that could change their lives forever. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are equally good as the long suffering parents under the clutches of this ordeal they can neither explain nor fathom. Once Wan and co. begin to ratchet up the suspense and terror, “Insidious” is a film that simply will not relent in its scares and surprises. I found myself winded after sitting down to see this and it’s the horror movie of 2011 that deserves far more attention than the recent Wes Craven “Scream” Stinker.