Hello to the internet and all you people wasting your time on it! My name is Jake Mendenhall, author of critfilms.blogspot.com!
Now if you are like me then you have an unhealthy fascination with horror movies. Unhealthy being one of the biggest understatements of my life. I can't get enough of them! And if you have been paying attention to the streak of horror movies released in the last 10 years...you'd know that there's really nothing to be proud of....
I mean...just to name a few...
So, yeah, the 21st century has not been graced with such classic horror films that the 20th century was just so lucky to have. That being said, the 21st century has not been without it's few gems. See...I'm not THAT pessimistic... Back in 2011, audiences and horror fans alike were graced with a surprisingly thrilling horror movie, cleverly titled "Insidious."
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| Song was creepy as fuck, right? |
This sounds like the stereotypical haunted house story that has jump scares and all that noise, doesn't it? Well, yeah, that's because it is. That being said, I still could not bring myself to hate this movie. In fact, I loved everything about it. Like this film followed the haunted house story equation to a tee, but it really worked to its advantage. It set itself up in this world with a creepy, almost nightmarish atmosphere. The pacing of this movie tied in so well with the overall delivery of the terror this movie had in store for us! From the get-go..this film get's your heart pounding with tension. Even the jump scares were well-placed and work for the tone of the scene it was in. You knew the jump scares were coming...but you still jumped anyway! Admit it...you did...we all saw it... I will say that the first two acts ran together very smoothly and were very intellectually and emotionally engaging. The third act is a kind of a cheap and strange payoff, but you'll still accept it and have fun. All in all, it is one of the best horror films I have seen in the last ten years, and it still gives me hope that horror films of this century can be saved...In fact..this film was so much fun...that I believe that they couldn't possibly find a way to continue this story and/or bleed it dry....
Oh wait...
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/insidiouschapter2/
(Yeah...YouTube hasn't uploaded it yet...give me a break...)
So, if you just got through watching it, you are probably overcome with joy that such a good movie could develop a thorough and delightfully scary film with...or you could be filled with worry and skepticism and filled with questions that will most likely ruin your excitement for this film....
The first thing I noticed when I heard about this movie, was the title itself. "Insidious: Chapter 2" No...they aren't Insidious 2...they aren't Insidious Part II...they aren't even Insidious: it's the second one...They are...Insidious: CHAPTER 2. I think the inclusion of the word, Chapter, just makes the film stand out a bit more. It's small...but I like it...
Now, I have to say...while I'm still very excited for this movie...the trailer isn't really doing it for me. The first thing I noticed in it was the campy, happy-family dialogue. You know the type:
"Oh look how playfully we play with each other as a family. We are such a happy family! I'm sure nothing could stop this happy family from being so happy. Oh, look at mom, happily watching her happy husband happily play with their happy children."
I'm not going to pretend that the dialogue from the first film was perfect or anything, but this is bordering on nauseating...Then the tone takes a pretty big shift..and I was all like.."Okay...time for the good stuff! Time to see a new ghost with new terrifying features and a more "Insidious agenda! Oh...it's the smiling ghost bitch from the last one...oh...." So, yeah..the trailer shows that the film is reusing a few things from the last one: Rocking Horses rocking by themselves...ghosts talking into the baby monitor...Ghosts rudely slamming doors into people's faces. Now, I know a sequel should try its best to demonstrate some connection to the previous movie, but from this trailer, only one word comes to mind..and that word is "Rehash." Hell, even Patrick Wilson goes back into that Nightmarish, black world from the first one; the "Further," they called it! What the hell are you doing, dude? That place had scary ghosts...and you want to go back!?
The trailer does do a few good things for me. The first one being the connection with the twist at the end. It seems as if this movie will explain how a certain someone is still here with us. That got my approval. The next thing being that it did have SOME...not many... but some creepy original imagery that I hope will take precedence in this film.
The two Insidious films are directed by Asian filmmaker, James Wan, director of the first few "Saw" films, or as I call them.."the Over-hyped movie of over-hyped over-hypedness." They are produced by the same guys who brought you "Paranormal Activity," which are pretty much on the same boat as Saw, but that's a review for another time.. Why am I telling you this? Well, within the last 2 years since Insidious was loved by audiences and critics alike...many horror movies that have come out by these guys have had the phrase, "From the people who brought you INSIDIOUS." shoehorned into their trailers. The name of this movie obviously carries a load of credit with it, so the filmmakers clearly know how to draw in an audience. So my question to them is...Why the hell would you prepare a trailer like this? I mean, his intentions are to clearly build up some sort of hype for this movie before September, so why load up the trailer with the stuff we've already seen from the first one? As a first trailer, you should want to load up as much new material, so that the audiences will start building hype for it, and be disappointed by the rehashed material after they paid for their ticket. It's called marketing, James...learn it!
Now, Trailers are deceptive..I know that. A movie can have a piece of shit trailer, but still turn out to be a good film. Vice Versa. Don't believe me. Go and watch the Phantom Menace theatrical trailer and tell me that it didn't look kick ass! Point is...trailers are deceptive. This film could very well be just as good, if not better than the first one, but in all honesty...the trailer isn't doing much for it. I really want to like this film, so I guess I'll have to wait until September 13th....That's a bad omen isn't it? To actually want to wait for Friday the 13th...
In closing...James Wan, you better not reuse that same demon from the last one. I don't think George Lucas will hold his patience and his lawyers back this time....just saying....
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