Insidious
Watch Trailer
Interview with the makers of Saw, James Wan and Leigh Whannell.
Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
Details: US/102 mins (16)
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are a happily married couple with two well behaved sons. Soon after they move into a new home Byrne begins noticing some strange noises and happenings in the gaff - which escalate considerably when one of their offspring falls off a ladder and ends up in a coma. After much pondering, they call in some outside help to explain why this is happening to them.
Playing like a more conventionally executed Paranormal Activity crossed with Poltergeist, originality was never the point here. Wan and Whannell (the latter of which also makes an appearance) wanted to craft something old school and chilling - this is a small budgeted film with little in the way of special effects. They open as they mean to go on, panning from a child sleeping at night to a terrifying face staring straight ahead. The rest of the running time is peppered with moments like that; ghostly figures standing over the baby's bed; mysterious men walking through the corridors at night etc.
Wilson is a convincing everyman, initially sceptical of his wife's concerns, while Byrne is solid as the concerned mother and then terrified wife. When the film changes a gear in the final third, what was initially scary soon descends in to full on ridiculous. This was made for around a million dollars - peanuts by Hollywood standards - so a grandiosely written conclusion looks more like a mid-80s music video, rather than a terrifying descent into the unknown. In fairness, Insidious completely had me before then and should have a similar effect with most audiences.
An interesting double-bill with Paranormal Activity, this is skilfully made and genuinely frightening stuff.
Review by Mike Sheridan
Your Comments
tonidoyle
yes cant wait, should be a good scare:o little kid is so creepy!!
Posted 20/04/2011 13:30:45
Jessikaway
i cant wait to actually s**t myself, as gross as that may sound...
Posted 25/04/2011 13:50:48
Happy Chappy
Wouldn't say there'd be too many happily married couples with 2 well-behaved sons going to this movie....
Posted 27/04/2011 10:08:38
1234
have to say saw the movie and it was utter crap, could have been so much more..!!
Posted 30/04/2011 18:01:17
Steve Cass
Went to see this last nigh, was very impressed with the first hour, it was genuinely creepy and there was quite a few moments that made me jump out of my seat. However they managed to ruin a great movie that had tons of potential. The last 40 minutes or so is utter rubbish. Don't bother going to see this!
Posted 01/05/2011 17:50:28
thegoodgirl
Saw this movie last night, I was not a fan of Paranormal Activity, however I didn't get a wink of sleep after watching this! Terrifying!!
Posted 01/05/2011 20:05:33
andrew
to be honest it was worth your money but then again its the type of film that when you walk in you could guess the ending and you would be correct out of ten id give it 5 but if you love paranormal activity you will like this
Posted 03/05/2011 13:31:55
chell3
i screamed n nearly had a heart ATTACK 40 minutes in 2 the film, some moments were so unexpected!! ('',) defo worth the watch, i havent jumped or screamed at a film in a long time, must see movie !! had me at the edge of my seat the whole way through.
Posted 04/05/2011 20:12:10
Colm
Great Movie. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Couple of genuinely unsettling scenes with a great "Boogeyman" style antagonist. Like an old school Ghost train ride. Great fun.
Posted 05/05/2011 17:03:17
Tunethetv
The music in this film reminded me of the old classic horror films. This was a top class horror film & will be hard to be match. http://twitter.com/#!/tunethetv
Posted 06/05/2011 22:08:37
Harv1000
1st half was great, second half was not so great. It turned from a true horror flick into a bunch of mime artists...
Posted 07/05/2011 02:46:07
Lulu
couldn't believe how bad it was. I watched the preview, with a q&a with the directors after, and was embarrassed for them as the audience laughed all the way through the film, as it was so ridiculous. It wasnt remotely scary, it was like a really long boring episode of 'Are you afraid of the dark'.
Posted 08/05/2011 18:01:10
ents07
I think this is the first time I've been in a cinema where people genuinly screamed. It's excellent, I thought it was going in the way of Poltergeist but there's a twist, I was gripped to the seat. Best movie I've seen in a LONG time! Highly recomended.. not for the faint hearted!
Posted 10/05/2011 12:02:29
supatayla
the film is quite possibly the worst ive ever seen, by the end of it me and my friends were laughing at how ridiculous it was! by the end you dont know if you're dealing with a ghost a poltergeist or a zombie! rubbish all the way
Posted 13/05/2011 22:13:32
shadow4798
You can ruin *any* horror movie by laughing at it. Thankfully I was in a screening where people weren't acting like muppets, so I could enjoy the movie for what it was; genuinely unsettling and chilling.
Posted 20/05/2011 20:40:37
zara_anne
Cannot believe that this was given 3 and a half stars, literally the most ridiculous film I have ever seen...don't waste your money!!! How do these films even get made!! One word: ludicrous!!
Posted 21/05/2011 01:21:39
azebra
Watched this movie last night with my roommate, and it delivered ....it was really creepy, and kind of different and we were both really freaked out...that is of course for the first hour or so. The last 40 minutes was rather anti-climatic. The concept was kind of interesting,and definitely different, and could have been a good concept for a movie on it's own I suppose, but to the ending of what was already a rather spine chilling, freaky movie, it just didn't fit. All in all, not a terrible movie, but not great, if there was something better playing in the cinema, I'd recommend you watch that instead.
Posted 22/05/2011 10:24:53
Ash
a good solid horror that descends into farce towards the end ,enjoyable for the most part with convincing acting especially with the two lead parts .
Posted 24/05/2011 23:36:40
lisa
The start of this film was good but the storyline was beyond stupid...
Posted 31/05/2011 09:52:41
Login or Register to leave a comment
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed here are those of the viewer and do not reflect those of Entertainment.ie. Entertainment.ie accepts no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for their accuracy of content. Please contact us to report abusive content
Search for Cinema Listings
Most Popular Reviews
 |
Men in Black III |
 |
What To Expect When You're Expecting |
 |
The Raid |
 |
The Dictator |
|
|
Marvel Avengers Assemble |
Your Reviews...
Don't watch the trailer! - movielover
You know the way some comedy movies have all the good lines in the trailer to make you go see it? Well that's the same... MORE02/06/2011 21:43:13
