Film

Insidious

Rebecca Sear | Friday 29 April, 2011 17:20

Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Ty Simpkins

Insidious is being billed as ‘the next chapter in horror.’ It certainly feels like the next chapter, but only in the same way that Kerry Katona: the Next Chapter is the next instalment in a long line of ‘I-used-to-be-in-Atomic-Kitten’ spin-off shows.

Hoping to ride on the success of the bafflingly popular yet seemingly plot-less Paranormal Activity, and the relentlessly money-spinning blood-fest that is the Saw franchise, here comes yet another horror film centred on a demonic kid. Only, one gets the distinct impression that the makers wanted to take a well-worn horror concept to new heights of nightmarishness; sadly the result is pretty ridiculous.

Josh and Renai (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) are a young couple who’ve moved into a new house with their three children. The story centres around the eldest child, Dalton, who slips into a coma after an accident. After three months with no improvement, the distraught parents move him back home from the hospital – a return which brings with it dark happenings. Cue your standard scary house type scenes: unidentifiable presences and shadows, rocking horses moving of their own accord (so Woman in Black), baby monitor radio interference etc. Enter Elise, paranormal investigator, and her two wearisome sidekicks. After the audience is suitably baffled with technological gibberish and ‘machines’ designed to monitor energy fields (aka a really elaborate camera –nice one, props department) Elise verifies what I’m sure we’d already realised – Dalton is ‘astral projecting’ himself into a demonic underworld and now his soul is trapped there. Turns out, Papa Josh is also has this disturbing talent, and is the only one who can save him. It’s from this point the story descends into sheer madness that even the most lucid acid trip would struggle to produce.

When Patrick Wilson’s character is transported into the spirit world, what might have been a chilling plot crescendo defies belief. The film is only enjoyable if one is able to completely suspend belief. Performances are pretty sound: Rose Byrne’s deep set worry lines and constant pained expression complete her doting mother/ frightened rabbit character portrayal well, and considering he’s largely in a coma, Ty Simpkins copes well with his role and appears sweet and demonic all at once. Don’t be fooled into thinking this horror film doesn’t fulfil its purpose: it’s truly spine tingling in places. It’s just that this film makes a school boy error in attempting to scare by letting the audience fully see the demon. No team effort from costume/make up/ special effects departments will ever be scarier than what the viewer’s imagination can conjure: after all, fear is in the eye of the beholder.

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