Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
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Critics Consensus: Insidious: Chapter 2 is decidedly short on the tension and surprises that made its predecessor so chilling.
Critics Consensus: Insidious: Chapter 2 is decidedly short on the tension and surprises that made its predecessor so chilling.
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The famed horror team of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell reunite with the original cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins in INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, a terrifying sequel to the acclaimed horror film, which follows the haunted Lambert family as they seek to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. (c) FilmDistrict- Rating:
- PG-13 (for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements)
- Genre:
- Mystery & Suspense , Horror
- Directed By:
- James Wan
- Written By:
- Leigh Whannell
- In Theaters:
- Sep 13, 2013 Wide
- On DVD:
- Dec 24, 2013
- US Box Office:
- $83.6M
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Cast
-
Patrick Wilson
as Josh Lambert -
Rose Byrne
as Renai Lambert -
Ty Simpkins
as Dalton Lambert -
Lin Shaye
as Elise Rainier -
Barbara Hershey
as Lorraine Lambert -
Jocelin Donahue
as Young Lorraine Lambe...
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LoginCritic Reviews for Insidious: Chapter 2
All Critics (109) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (68) | DVD (1)
Most of [Wan's] peers shoot a bunch of scenes and let the editor make a smoothie. Wan no longer relies on visual gibberish. He has become a classicist in that sense.
Characters in Whannell/Wan screenplays speak with the first-draft expository bluntness of a cheap '50s thriller, letting the characters step on some of the best reveals.
Though there's some admirably clever plotting to interweave the film's second half with events in the original, it's simply not as scary.
Insidious: Chapter 2 is not only unnecessary but it commits the cardinal sin of devaluing its predecessor.
An increasing amount of metaphysical backtracking dilutes the few simple jolts that do work this time around.
This sequel to the horror hit about a boy lost in the demon-infested netherworld called The Further adds the element of time travel to its paranormal expeditions -- and sinks in its own murk.
It's not gory, but relies on ceaseless weirdness with scores of jump scares and even an odd Back To The Future 2-style subplot that's undeveloped yet still adds to the overall sense of crazy. Love or hate it, this is pretty effective modern scare cinema.
The best horror films stay with you, leaving you jumping at the slightest sounds. This is decidedly not that kind of movie.
It's a treat to see old-school film technique and makeup design rather than an overabundance of CGI work.
Wan and Whannell have attempted to do something interesting, but Chapter 2 - AKA Back To The Further - is overly complicated as a result. More repetitive than last time and less grounded.
Insidious: Chapter 2 has a number of issues, chief among them the fact that it recycles far too much of the first film, turning this into a dreadfully dull ghost story with no chills.
At this film's start, young Elise tells young Josh, "I promise, it won't hurt." You know that she knows this can't be so.
Carrying on where the last one left off, horror maestro du jour James Wan (Saw, Dead Silence, The Conjuring) serves up a juicy, fright-filled spookfest with this follow-up to the 2011 hit.
INSIDIOUS: Chapter Two has a good cache of scares; a necessary injection of mystery and despite small doses of clunky performances and scripting it's a rare, high quality horror sequel.
Trashy and silly and occasionally unintentionally funny, it is nonetheless weirdly compelling.
...often fares even better than its entertaining predecessor...
Clever isn't the same as scary. It's the unexplained, not the over-explained, that tingles the spine.
It relies on cheap thrills and fails to generate consistent suspense, while lacking the sharp sense of humor that kept the first film from bogging down.
Alas, the tension and fright remain mostly invisible in "Insidious: Chapter 2," the disappointing sequel to the terrific "Insidious."
Amps up the scares without breaking any new ground while offering more layers and less gore than most films in this genre.
The movie finds itself haunted by a three-headed beast: incoherence, illogicality and contrivance.
Wan and Whannell return to their 2011 hit with a vengeance, gleefully filling in the story before, after and even during that first chapter with even more gonzo nuttiness.
Director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell generate some cool scares and clever comic relief from Elise's junior colleagues, but a viewing of the first movie would benefit newbies.
Tedious and repetitive, it concludes with yet another creepy cliffhanger.
A clumsy and muddled follow up to the original; toomany tricks and not enough treats.
Audience Reviews for Insidious: Chapter 2
Super Reviewer
James Wan still knows how to pull off some cool, if not scary, haunted house sequences. But none of the problems from the first Insidious have been fixed, and now the novelty is gone. Insidious: Chapter 2 complicates its scenarios with too much backstory. Its twists are predictable and the film seems too concerned with building a franchise than making an entertaining movie.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Here's a case where the sequel absolutely sucks compared to the original. The first movie was so fresh, original, and creepy that it would be hard to follow-up. I give em props for trying, and actually taking this into a very almost hockey type of horror movie, but it just never really works. It picks up right after the first movie, and all the actors return. It just never settles into the same groove and goes into some weird directions, that eliminates the scares completely. I hope with the 3rd movie(there will be another one) that it goes in a new direction, which I've read is the plan. The would be wise, because this story doesn't have anymore juice at all. I think if they would have just done a different set of characters, and made each movie different(like "American Horror Story") it could really have worked. The other had such a great ending that this kind of taints it a little bit. I'm sure some people enjoyed it, and good for you. I'm just hopeful that the next one is much, much better.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Insidious: Chapter 2 Quotes
- Carl Stanaway:
- Don't break the circle.
- Dalton Lambert:
- Is there something wrong with daddy, mom?
- Elise Rainier:
- Oh my god.
- Michelle:
- Don't you dare!!
- Young Elise Rainier:
- In my line of work things tend to happen when it gets dark.
- Carl Stanaway:
- When you were a boy, something haunted you.
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