Platform:
Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.
Quote:
“It’s not the house that’s haunted. It’s your son.”
Synopsis:
When their son, Dalton, falls into a coma shortly after moving into their new house, the Lamberts begin to experience a series of paranormal events. Renee Lambert, the mom, decides to call for help by enlisting the aid of Spectral Sightings, and Elise, Specks, and Tucker come to the rescue. This time, they face off against a fire-faced demon who is looking to use the Lamberts’ young son as a doorway into the physical world. Elise will have to help dad, Josh, journey into The Further to bring his son back safely.
Review:
This is my favorite of the Insidious films, and maybe that’s because it’s the first. Everything they did here was new and felt like a breath of fresh air in the horror realm. The way they used the build-up to the jump scares in most instances worked really well. I just wish they would have relied less on LOUD NOISES to reinforce the scares. It’s a bad precedent that starts here and gets worse in the other films. The thing is, they could have still delivered some fantastic scares, and they would actually have been creepier without the loud noise. The noise triggers a startle reflex which causes most people to jump in reaction. However, as I’ve said, I don’t startle easily, so jump scares rarely work on me. I find the quiet creepy atmosphere style much more effective for getting my chills on. This movie still delivers those, but often the loud blast of noise actually distracts from the creepiness.
That being said, I don’t have really any other complaints about this film. The performances all deliver, and they do a good job of creating a tense atmosphere as the haunting escalates. One of my favorite scares in the film is when Renee here’s a voice over the baby monitor of someone repeating angrily over and over “I want it.” When we had monitors up in the kid's rooms, that was something that I always secretly dreaded I would wind up experiencing.
Let’s talk about how this plays viewing the film third in the timeline of events. I will be spoiling the very end of the film because it’s really important to discuss when looking at the events and their effectiveness when viewed in this order.
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Ok, here we go. I remember when they started going back to tell stories about what happened before the Lamberts haunting that it was a little weird and even a little heavy-handed the way that they worked in the Black Bride (more about that one in the next entry), and the lipstick demon. However, going in this order, when you see these flashes of these creatures stalking Elise, it really leads to some moments that feel like a payoff. Throughout Chapter 3 and Last Key, Elise sees and confronts the Black Bride, and we get glimpses of Lipstick Demon. So, by the time Elise shows up in this film, we are ready for her to confront these things that have been lurking in the background stalking her this whole time. Especially as we finally get an answer to the Black Bride’s threat that it will kill Elise as it’s angry with her for keeping it away from Josh Lambert when he was a kid. It also makes it all the more tragic when we learn that the Black Bride finally succeeds in killing Elise.
This film is a regular viewing experience for me, multiple times a year, so it’s an easy recommend.
Movie Count:
New = 14
Total = 23
DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.
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