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When James Wan’s Insidious hit theaters in 2010, it scared up instant success, but its 2013 sequel just couldn’t match it. Insidious: Chapter 2 continued the story of the Lambert family as they deal with the consequences of Josh rescuing his son Dalton from “The Further.” The movie, which sees Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne reprise their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, is scheduled to stop streaming on HBO Max on January 31st.
Insidious: Chapter 2 Didn’t Live up to James Wan’s Original
Insidious: Chapter 2 isn’t a bad movie or even a terrible horror sequel, but there’s no denying that it fell flat in comparison to Wan’s original movie, which is regarded as one of the best, most terrifying horror films. The film was met with a mixed bag of reactions from critics and general audiences and fell from the 66% critic score and 62% audience rating of Insidious’ Rotten Tomatoes scores to rotten 38% and 57% ratings.
The poor reception boiled down to two main things: a convoluted plot that attempted to over-explain the original and a tonal shift that drastically dropped the scare factor. Critic Jeff Beck said it best, writing in his review for Examiner.com that Insidious: Chapter 2 “recycles far too much of the first film, turning this into a dreadfully dull ghost story with no chills.” Although the film made a good effort to expand the original’s story and mythology, it ultimately felt like it attempted to connect too many pieces, resulting in a confusing narrative that over-explained the Further and reduced the mystery. And when it came to scares? Well, they just weren’t there, at least not in the same way as the original. Rather than building the intense atmosphere of fear that the original did so well, Chapter 2 relied more on intense jump scares and a complex, darker storyline.
