Scaredy-Cat Review: Insidious

A good place to start if you're new to horror.

Title: Insidious
Director: James Wan
Year of Release: 2011
Scaredy Cat Level: 👻👻
Subgenre: Supernatural Horror

Plot Summary (Spoiler-Free)

Josh and Renai Lambert have just settled into their absurdly large new house with their two sons, Dalton and Foster, and their baby daughter, Kali. Things start off great – until the usual “creepy new house” problems arise: mysterious noises, doors that open by themselves, and the overwhelming sense that something is definitely not right. Just when you think things can't get worse, Dalton takes a nap and decides not to wake up. Ever.

Naturally, the Lamberts do what any reasonable family would do: pack up and move. Problem solved, right? Wrong. It turns out, you can move out of a haunted house, but you can’t move away from the supernatural shenanigans if they’re hitching a ride with your kid (sort of). Cue the creepy stuff cranking up to 11.

SPOILER ALERT!

The rest of this review contains some details and thoughts that might reveal a bit more about the movie.

The Scaredy Cat Experience

• Jump Scare Count: Four or five, but honestly, they weren’t that bad – even for me. They were pretty predictable.

• Tense Moments: The attic scenes in the beginning, and a few nighttime scenes where creepy stuff happens while everyone’s supposed to be asleep, had me on edge. I spent most of the first half waiting for it to get really scary. I’m relieved disappointed to say that it never really happened.

• Spooky Atmosphere: The first house was genuinely creepy, and it was used well in the beginning (until they moved). But “The Further” – the other realm where the spirits reside – didn’t really do it for me. It felt more "meh" than menacing.

The Funny Bits

The main bad guy with the red face? Kinda funny-looking. Once you get a good look at him, he’s more “horny devil fetish” than “terrifying demon.”

Scaredy Cat Verdict

I didn’t find Insidious all that scary, though there were a few tense moments. Not a bad film overall, and a good starting point if you’re new to horror or a fellow scaredy cat like me.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed parts of the film, especially the “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” scene – definitely a highlight. I would’ve loved to see more of Renai (the wife) losing it; she was on the brink! Unfortunately, a lot of the tension felt anticlimactic, and most of the scares didn’t quite get me.

Bits That Scared Me (Sort Of)

• Face at the baby's window

• Someone in the room with the wife

• A random noise in my own house!

• Creepy face behind the husband at the dining table

• The camera/twin girls

• Photos with the witch in the background—kinda creepy

• The witch just casually walking past the dad in the old house

• Girl with the gun and the creepy smile

• The hand in the drawer

My (Out-of-Context) Thoughts During the Movie

• "Fuck this."

• "There’s noises in the house… she’s going up to the attic (why?)."

• "Now the boy’s gone up to the attic himself—is he fucking mental?"

• "Husband seems like a bit of a dick."

• "Imagine he was just pretending to be asleep?"

• "Baby monitors give me the fear."

• "I knew it! He was pretending to be asleep!"

• "Couldn’t he have corrected those papers at home?"

• "I’m sure everything will be fine now that they’ve moved house."

• "Ooh, ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’!"

• "Rose Byrne is trippin'."

• "Follow his fucking voice, Dalton!"

• "That is quite the tongue!"

• "So they sold their big house for no reason?"

• "Sending the husband in seems like a bad idea."

• "I bet those ghosts are dying to laugh!"

• "I like that red door."

• "Why is it dark everywhere?"

• "That lantern is useless."

• "The dad has lost it!"