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If you're looking for a movie that'll send its share of shivers down your spine, then you could do a lot worse than Insidious. A Haunted House movie that delivers what you expect yet still does its durndest to avoid cliches sounds like more than one could dare to hope for. And Insidious comes very very close to being that good.
The cast is very believable in their roles. The chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne is there. These feel like a well adjusted couple with a handful of kids. You could see this group walking through the neighborhood grocery store and buy that they are a family. The two ghostbuster characters bring in a bit of needed comic relief, but not so much as to derail the tone of the flick. The character of Elise does a fine job of enhancing the spooky factor. Not because she's a creepy person, simply because the information she brings to the table raise the stakes dramatically and the actress does a fine job in not going over the top in what most movies probably would have made a showier role.
The movie is there to frighten you and it does a very good job with the creep out parts. The director knows how to play an audience and he has a lot of fun trying to get you to pull that pillow you're gripping in even tighter. I particularly enjoyed the fact that daytime was not treated like a safe haven. The different ghosts and spirits were diverse and did well in playing with several different fears.
The first hour of this movie was building up to make me believe I was dealing with a modern classic in the horror genre. Then the third act happened. The thing is, that last half hour isn't necessarily bad. In fact I appreciated its attempt to go in a bit of a different direction than a normal haunted house movie. I simply felt that the execution didn't live up to its ambition.
For a fan of movies full of fright, I have no hesitation in saying it is a movie worthy of your time. I just wished that the brilliance of the first hour was followed through with a more satisfying conclusion.
