Geeks on Film: Insidious [Review]

Insidious is the next film by James Wan and Leigh Whannell that brought you the original Saw. And much like Saw they have once again chosen to redefine a tired horror sub-genre, this time dealing with the haunted house sub-genre.

Insidious like most haunted house films is the story of a family that moves into a house only to have strange things begin to happen all around them. But where Insidious differs is what happens after those things begin to happen. The script is cleverly written and the film is careful not to fall into the clichés you would expect.

The acting is solid, the direction is tight and the jump scares are plentiful. While you can sometimes tell they were working with a limited budget, the special effects are still believable. My only criticism? I wish we would have seen more of the great creature designs we only get glimpses of in the film.

I loved Insidious and it’s almost a shame it’s not coming out during Halloween, because this is definitely a great film to check out with a group of friends. It’s the best American horror film I have seen this year, which is surprisingly considering the PG-13 rating. I hope this doesn’t deter people from seeing it, because despite the rating this film definitely delivers the scares.

I give Insidious a 4.5 out of 5 stars, it’s a great film and I really hope people check this one out.