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In the last few years ghost stories have seen a bit of a comeback, thanks primarily to the success of the micro-budget wunderkind productions of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2. Shortly before that there were semi-successful remakes of Japanese horror films like THE RING and THE GRUDGE, which while financially impressive seemed to lack the (for lack of a better word) spirit of the source material. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a really good, fairly sizable-budgeted ghost story on the big screen. But thanks to the original SAW creators, director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, moviegoers will have a new chance to be dramatically frightened in an old school way with INSIDIOUS.

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) are an average American couple with two young sons and baby, all getting settled into a new house. Creepy things start to happen around them, leading Renai to wonder if there may be something wrong with their new domicile. One morning their oldest son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) doesn’t wake up, and after rushing him to the hospital the Lamberts are told he’s in some sort of coma-like state, which doesn’t appear to make any sense to the doctors. Three months pass, and even weirder things begin happening in the house, pushing Renai to the brink of sanity and Josh to the brink of ultimate denial. Eventually they call upon a spiritual advisor named Elise (Lin Shaye) and her eccentric assistants Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). But the truly frightening aspect of what is happening to the family may go way beyond a haunted house, and might even be beyond their ability to overcome.

These days you can’t just make a haunted house movie anymore, as most people have seen so many incarnations of that type of film, it’s become hard to really wow audiences these days. That said, INSIDIOUS manages to be genuinely chilling and fun, and while incorporating sincere homages to some of the more famous films of its type, never feels like it’s lazy or a rip off. I dare say it ranks right up there with POLTERGEIST, which is a bold statement to make, but based on two viewings of the film, both of which were very effective with the audiences. We’ve found ourselves living in an age where ghost investigators are all the rage on reality television, but dramatic ghost stories are sparse, outside of the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY films of course. Personally, I’ve got my own issues with the supernatural, at least a somewhat inherent fear of the idea behind ghosts and the undead. I’d also consider myself a bit of a horror movie fan, so I’m fairly particular about the kinds of scary movies I get behind. This is what scary movies should be. There are multiple moments where the viewer will find themselves nervous and uncomfortable, and it’s that unsettling effect that defines a successful horror film. Even with a PG-13 rating, INSIDIOUS manages to push its limitations quite strongly.

The performances back up the intensely slow-building script (not slow, but slow-building). Patrick Wilson does a fine job playing the man of the house in denial of the awful things happening around him. There’s interesting things going on with his character, and an unusual back story that makes him appropriately layered. Rose Byrne is great as the frightened wife, bringing genuine sympathy from the audience, and delivering her lines with realistic fear. She’s the glue that holds everything together, and delivers one of the best roles of her career in this production. There’s also great supporting characters, like Lin Shaye as the mysterious but sympathetic spirit guide, Barbara Hershey as Josh’s secretively concerned mother, and Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson as the Abbott and Costello-like ghost techies – all of them having fun and making the most of their dialogue.

The visuals are creative and unsettling, moving way beyond what we consider standard ghost fare.  As a director James Wan knows how to keep things tense, and his horror roots serve him well in this film. One thing Wan excels at is building intensity – it was very present in SAW, and perhaps even more effective here. It’s also great seeing him and Leigh Whannell teaming up in the same way again, and their collaborative genius exhibited in the first SAW movie clearly wasn’t a fluke, as that teaming produces some solid entertainment in this new film as well. Whannell has the added fun of defining the storytelling process and acting in the film, and like his role in SAW he’s used sparingly but effectively. It’s hard to go too in depth about INSIDIOUS without running the risk of spoiling some of the best surprises, but it’s easy to say that it works on many levels, right up until the last series of shots. Heck, even the title of the movie with the screeching music put behind it is enough to make you unsettled… but in a good way. If you like scary movies, or are even slightly afraid of the supernatural, get ready to be frightened out of your mind.

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