When we last left the Lamberts, the family whose eldest son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) had been trapped in a comalike state in \u201cInsidious,\u201d the boy had awakened from his supernatural trance thanks to a rescue mission by his intrepid father. Like a paranormal Navy SEAL, Daddy (Patrick Wilson) had metaphorically rappelled, under hypnosis, into the spirit realm, where his son was being held captive by ectoplasmic terrorists.<\/p>\n
\u201cInsidious: Chapter 2\u201d picks up the story there.<\/p>\n
Where do you go with a tale that ended so over the top, in a fog-shrouded netherworld called \u201cThe Further\u201d? Apparently, even further.<\/p>\n
Although \u201cInsidious\u201d had built up a nice head of suspense for much of the film, its final act was absurdly out of proportion to the delicious sense of dread that had been created by director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, who, since collaborating on the 2004 \u201cSaw,\u201d have made a name for themselves as horror auteurs. Here, they try to outdo what they did in \u201cInsidious,\u201d piling on plot twists borrowed from a host of other movies that, while in some cases are genuinely creepy, turn \u201cChapter 2\u201d into a bustling, overly busy mess.<\/p>\n
Remember \u201cPoltergeist\u201d? It\u2019s essentially the model for both \u201cInsidious\u201d films, which presuppose a parallel universe beyond the physical one, inhabited by malevolent entities who can drift in and out of our world, and into whose world we \u2013 or at least some of us \u2013 can also enter, willingly or not. That 1982 film posited an alternate \u201csphere of consciousness\u201d that could be entered, quite literally, by spiritual spelunkers tethered to a rope. Similarly, \u201cInsidious: Chapter 2\u201d features a visit to the Further by someone tied to \u2013 I kid you not \u2013 a piece of string.<\/p>\n
Talk about String Theory. Just contemplating the physics of this will make your head explode.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose I should have explained something,\u201d says one of the spirit mediums (Steve Coulter), who is called in to assist the Lamberts. \u201cThis isn\u2019t an exact science.\u201d<\/p>\n
No kidding.<\/p>\n
Those who missed the first film will get a recap in \u201cChapter 2,\u201d which centers on the father, Josh Lambert, who now appears to be haunted instead of Dalton. \u201cIs something wrong with Daddy?\u201d the boy asks, after Josh starts talking to himself and pulling rotten teeth out of his mouth.<\/p>\n
Yes, kid, but it\u2019s the movie you should be worried about, not your old man.<\/p>\n
In addition to \u201cPoltergeist,\u201d \u201cInsidious: Chapter 2\u201d cribs from \u201cThe Shining,\u201d \u201cThe Exorcist,\u201d \u201cPsycho\u201d and other films. If it has to steal, at least it\u2019s from some of the best. The problem is, it\u2019s also reminiscent, in parts, of \u201cMommie Dearest\u201d and, as a friend of mine pointed out, \u201cA Reflection of Fear.\u201d (Yeah, I had to look up that 1973 B movie, too. Don\u2019t Google its plot twist if you don\u2019t want a major spoiler.) Certain scenes in \u201cInsidious: Chapter 2\u201d look like outtakes from a zombie movie, with ghouls staggering around in the dark, arms outstretched.<\/p>\n
And you thought this was a simple ghost story?<\/p>\n
Stick to Wan\u2019s \u201cThe Conjuring\u201d (also starring Wilson) for that. Unfortunately, that exquisitely restrained fright-fest, which is still in theaters, is starting to look more and more like a fluke for the filmmaker, who seems to be running out of ideas, even as he amps up the demand for them. Get ready for even less of them in \u201cInsidious: Chapter 3,\u201d a sequel whose inevitability is ensured by the teaser ending of \u201cChapter 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s only one number that matters here. Considering how creatively bankrupt and stylistically profligate this installment is, the new movie should really be called \u201cInsidious: Chapter 11.\u201d