BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 29: INSIDIOUS (2011)

We've done a lot of horror movies so far this month, 28 horror movies to be exact. Some of them you may think aren't that scary. Some of them may be scarier than others. That's the beauty of horror films, what scares one person may not scare another. I've know people who find Home Invasion films and Slasher flicks frightening but laugh at films like THE EXORCIST. Supernatural films and monster movies do nothing for them. Then I know people who are just the opposite. I've even known people who were given nightmares by the original 1954 GODZILLA. It just goes to show you that what people are afraid of and not scared of runs the whole gamut and can be different from person to person. Obviously becoming too familiar with a scary movie lessens the fright over time. But that's no reason to put a horror movie down.

Here's a movie that scares me and I've seen it quite a few times already. INSIDIOUS directed by JAMES WAN, the same man who gave us the original SAW film, DEAD SILENCE, and THE CONJURING. Insidious was written by James Wan's frequent collaborator LEIGH WHANNELL, writer of Saw and Dead Silence. Suffice it to say these two men know how to scare an audience, either through realistic gore or supernatural entities. Insidious chooses to scare us with the latter by doing essentially a remake of POLTERGEIST but with a twist. "It's not the house that's haunted. It's your son."

THE PLOT

Josh and Renai and their three children just moved into a new house. There oldest son, Dalton, while playing alone in the attic slipped on a latter and hit his head. He seemed no worse for wear afterward. The next morning he didn't wake up. The doctors told Josh and Renai that there was no brain damage and that Dalton was medically healthy. They have no answers as to his coma-like state. Three months pass and Josh and Renai are allowed to bring their child home, still in a come. One day Renai hears another voice on the baby monitor whispering. When she goes into the baby's room to check on their infant daughter she finds no one else there save her and the baby.

One night she wakes hearing the baby crying. When she sleepily goes in to check she sees a dark figure standing over the crib. Then it suddenly disappears. Later she goes to tuck in her other son, Foster. He looks visibly scared. When she asks him why he's afraid he says he doesn't like it when Dalton walks around at night. The strange and frightening occurrences continue and grow progressively worse. Renai finally reaches out to a priest and through one way or another encounters Elise, a woman who specializes in helping people with unusual problems. What Elise reveals to them neither Renai or Josh are prepared for. "Dark entities are gathering around your son."

THE GOOD

The Building of Tension. Something you see a lot in horror films of the past but not so much with today's films is a director holding back, allowing the tension to build naturally, and when the suspense ripens letting the audience experience the scare. James Wan displays expert restraint and tension building far better than almost any director today. Not only that, but he understands the "less is more" philosophy. He doesn't overload the film with scare after scare, but instead plants little scares that build upon one another into one eventual big scare. This film has a handful of truly great scares versus an overload where some scares are good and some aren't. Quality over quantity.

The Music. Joseph Bishara supplies the score for this film and it is one of the most chilling and unnerving film scores I've ever heard. He utilizes string instruments in an ear piercing chorus that is both jarring and heart racing. Some film scores take a little bit to connect with the audience before you realize the heightened emotions associated with the sounds. Some scores you don't immediately connect with fear until the images and the sounds coalesce. Bishara's score instantly feels frightening and unholy. The music alone is terrifying and when combined with the haunting images on screen it makes for one scary experience.

The Ghosts. SPOILER ALERT: There are ghosts in this film and boy are they scary. It's a beautiful combination of make-up effects, lighting, and music. It seems as if the make-up on the ghosts was partially inspired by the ghost designs from the film CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962). It isn't grotesque or over-the-top but subtle and creepy, much like the whole of the film. The way they are presented is not how you'd expect either. There are traditional "jump scares" but then there are slow creep outs too where the camera lingers on them inching closer and closer. And sometimes there are no cues at all as the camera sweeps by with a ghost just standing in the corner. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

THE BAD

The Demon. SPOILER ALERT. If there is one major weakness with this film it is the demon design. The set-up for the demon is wonderful. The sketches and shadowy scenes with it in the corner are great! Even the short glimpse over Patrick Wilson's shoulder is good. But the build up proved too effective because when we actually get a clear shot of it the sight is a let down. They use primarily make-up, body paint, and a few prostheses that come across as goofy looking rather than scary. Our imaginations have already made the demon far scarier than anything we could've seen. Why James Wan didn't keep with the "less is more" approach for the demon is beyond me. In the end it doesn't hurt the film much for me but I have heard that for other viewers the film lost all credibility upon the demon's reveal.

THE VERDICT

Don't let the PG-13 rating fool you. This is one scary movie. James Wan has shown in movies like Saw and Dead Silence that he is no stranger to the R rating. I doubt that he would've shied away from the R rating with this film had the movie needed it. He proves here that he doesn't need an R rating to scare the pants off us. He shows amazing restraint with this movie and it only makes the whole experience scarier. Insidious is a well done homage to Poltergeist and other haunted house films while throwing in its own twist offering up something rarely seen in these films. Insidious gets my full approval and still gives me the shivers.