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Insidious (2011)

Director: James Wan

Time Out rating

Average user rating

20 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

From the co-creators of ‘Saw’ (James Wan and Leigh Whannell, here director and writer) and the director of ‘Paranormal Activity’ (Oren Peli, producing) comes a project featuring nothing that was original, distinctive or scary about either earlier film. It starts like a haunted-house movie: spooked by something nasty in the loft of his parents’ new house, Dalton (Ty Simpkins) lapses into a coma. His mother, Renai (Rose Byrne), hires loopy medium Elise (Lin Shaye), who declares: ‘Your son is not in a coma. It’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s him.’ Renai’s sceptical husband (Patrick Wilson) is equally unimpressed when Elise calls in a pair of bickering, nerdy ghostbusters (Angus Sampson and Whannell), who arrive with tons of Heath Robinson gear. Suddenly, we swerve into a preposterous supernatural mystery – seemingly grabbed from the waste baskets of M Night Shyamalan and Sam Raimi – as Dalton is besieged by evil spirits and the medium spouts half-baked guff about astral planes. Not so much insidious as inexcusable.

Author: Nigel Floyd

Time Out London Issue 2123: 28 – 4 May, 2011

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User reviews of this film

Ian said...

Posted on Aug 31 2011 18:23 The comment you type in this box will appear
I really can't believe some of the comments here,first of all no of course it's not a stand alone straight horror,it is quite obviously a homage to the great horrors of old,to the idiot who says it's unbelievable well guess what ,it's a movie about ghosts and astral plains,I think you say that terminator was unbelievable too?listen it is what it is and douse a great job doing what it set out to do,if your to clever and hip for films like this and much prefer silent black and whites or films that end in Fin then why bother dissing a movie that's beneath you and leave the rest to the common peoplewho seem to enjoy watching a good scary but silly film that entertains and don't spend the entire time dissecting and criticising instead of enjoying.

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Thats not just logic. Th said...

Posted on May 31 2011 23:45 Thats not just logic. Thats rlealy sensible.

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jules said...

Posted on May 28 2011 18:07 bad horror film , rather go and get drunk!

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ric said...

Posted on May 27 2011 07:45 The usual creaks,bangs,screams from sound effects that are meant to make u jump instead of the story. YAWN 2*

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critique said...

Posted on May 25 2011 15:38 Okay horror which, as Gaffer says below, " shouldn`t be taken too seriously".

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hinna said...

Posted on May 23 2011 22:45 apsaloutly rubish and bored me to sleeep would not reccomend this film to anyone unless they are sad and boring then mybe yeah

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Gaffer said...

Posted on May 20 2011 11:48 I didn't view it as an out-and-out horror, more an effective homage to a number of classic horrors of the past - this was surely evident with the shrieking violins over the old-fashioned "Insidious" credit at the beginning. Clearly it is not meant to be taken too seriously but the schlock-scares are good and the creepy stuff involving the spirits unsettling in places and amusing in others. Have to say some people in the cinema were actually screaming in places and several women claimed to be too scared to actually leave at the end! For me it is a movie of two halves: the "haunted house" Poltergeist stuff at the start and the Sam Raimi tongue-in-cheek happy-horror at the end. It is worth seeing; of course it is preposterous in terms of the plot but most horrors are, surely? Great to see Barbara Hershey in a modern too, and ironically playing an exorcist of sorts. More evidence that this really shouldn't be taken too seriously.

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perky hughes said...

Posted on May 18 2011 16:19 Rubbish film. Boring, cheesy & a total waste of money. It picked up towards the end but its too late then!! Save ya £ & go see something else!!

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Joe said...

Posted on May 15 2011 20:40 1 star for the insolent and inaccurate TO review! The film is way better than 'P Activity' or 'Saw' and produced with far more skill! And what is N Floyd's point exactly? Is the story preposterous? Of course it is, but all horror films are! You are expected to suspend disbelief as soon as the film starts in order to enjoy it. True the film loses some pace when the medium, and hence the audience try to make sense of it all but this film is jam-packed with incredibly creepy moments!
Not for fans of blood & gore but was definitely spooky enough for me! To end a short and frankly lazy TO review by describing a horror film as 'inexcusable'; that really is preposterous!

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Absinthe said...

Posted on May 12 2011 15:58 Absolute tosh. Lacks the scares or cleverness about the plot. Guillermo teach these fools a lesson. Nigel Floyd your reviews never cease to pin point my exact thoughts on horror films. keep up the good work.

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Marsellus said...

Posted on May 08 2011 11:14 One of the most boring films I have seen in a long time. Stupid plot, absurd dialogue and not scary in the slightest. If a horror film is not scary, what is the point? DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on May 02 2011 16:30 A good horror is a rare thing so should be praised...but 4 five star ratings?! It it really in the same league as The Exorcist, Carrie or The Shining? Five stars indicate to me that it's unmissable, is this? Of course not. T.O. review IS mean, but that's no excuse to get carried away! Its a good film (no more, no less) and good films merit 3 star status.

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BG said...

Posted on May 02 2011 00:00 This film is not to be taken to seriously and the almost ludicrous spooks are very intentional. There are a lot of really well timed jump moments throughout the film and there were many people in the theatre covering their eye's. Its a lot of fun and should be reviewed as such. Reminded me more of a really good theme park ghost train and anyone who want's to be scared, jump out of their seat and then laugh all at the same time will love this film ;) I thought it was an unpretensious, creepy, funny, theme park ride. Loved it!

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DS said...

Posted on May 01 2011 17:38 The twist ending was a bit predictable, but the best part of this movie. Rarely scary and hard to swallow. The humor and the completely unbelievable and ridiculous portrayal of the demon undid all the momentum of the horror being built!

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zara said...

Posted on May 01 2011 11:36 the ghosts were disapointing, the ghost busters duo added comic value that shouldnt really be seen in a horror film. the ghosts were silly on times and not scary. the ending was way too predictable. also the "demon" was rediculious and just unbelieveable. a dissapointment being as it was supposed to be so scary.

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