Get ready! Horror movies
haven't been this fun in a very long time. Saw mavericks James Wan (director)
and Leigh Whannell (writer/actor) have left the tepid torture porn behind -
though they really didn't revel in it, if you think about it - to deliver
Insidious, the most delightful celluloid dark ride of this or any other year.
Rediscovering the basic joys in shocks and suspense, the duo don't so much
re-invent the haunted house film as revive its rollercoaster thrills. By using
a simple set-up and a plethora of pay-offs, the movie plays like a
joke-a-minute parody where dread and terror takes the place of punchlines, the
audience screaming instead of laughing in devious delight.
After teacher Josh (Patrick
Wilson) and his composer wife Renai (Rose Byrne) up root their family and move
into a new house, everything seems fine . Within the first couple of days,
however, oldest child Dalton (Ty Simpkins) suffers a simple fall and suddenly
lapses into a coma. Months pass and the doctors have no answers. While caring
for her son, Renai is convinced that an evil presence is trying to take him
from her. Hoping to confirm (or cancel out) such supernatural ideas, Josh's
mother (Barbara Hershey) asks a psychic friend (Lin Shaye) to look in on the
brood. Without warning, the medium makes a shocking discovery. Dalton is being
attacked by spirits from "The Further", a parallel plane of tortured
souls - and one particularly malevolent demon. If they can't find a way to save
their son, he will be lost forever.
Steeped in a wealth of scary
movie mythology and not afraid to do almost anything for a fright, Insidious
is, without a doubt, one of the best old fashioned genre films in a long time. It's
the perfect post-modern funhouse, complete with moments of levity and sequences
of nerve-shattering suspense. Wan, who's treaded down this path before (with
the grossly underappreciated
Dead Silence) eschews many of the directorial
quirks that made Saw seem scattered to keep the narrative focused on this one
family and the growing level of supernatural shocks. From the opening moments
where a skeletal veiled ghoul stares silently at the camera, we know we're in
for a traditional terror romp - and we can't wait.
This is masterful macabre, the
kind of solid spook show that will remind many of the first cinematic
experience that turned them on to fear. Pacing the effects out flawlessly, Wan
builds a level of tension that treats the viewer as a willing and wanting participant.
As little touches (a chair moves, a light flickers) build to massive paranormal
set-pieces, the filmmaker never lets things get out of control. Indeed,
Whannell's script seems to consistently find the right beats, from initial
interpersonal troubles between Josh and Renai to the last act revelation of an
important psychic ability. Throughout, Insidious keeps channeling the entirety
of the creepfest. The only thing missing is gore, and such unnecessary gratuity
is not needed here.
A lack of blood does not mean
a lack of balls, however. Wan revels in taboo elements (children in danger,
religious iconography) to get his shivers across, and his cast is complicit in
the results. Wilson and Byrne make perfect post-modern parents - concerned yet precariously
detached. Even better are Hershey and Shaye who step in as various facets of a
matriarchal "make it all better" conceit and almost ruin everything.
But this is really a filmmaker's showcase, a career calling card destined to
make Wan one of the most beloved masters of horror ever (if he isn't already). Insidious
is a classic just waiting to be confirmed.
****1/2
This has been one of the most unusual Summer's in recent memory. 2016 may go down in history as the time when the popcorn entertainment suffered under the weight of expectations and the fans' foolish belief that Hollywood can change its money-making priorities. As a result, few of the big titles this year have soared, while many have been considered borderline bombs.
