Insidious - DVD Review

I thought I would start off October on Colleenie’s Couch with a review a horror film I recently saw. Unlike my review for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, this film did not even come close to my expectations.

Insidious received so much hype when it was in theaters. It was billed as a good ol’fashion horror flick and the tiny film raked in a much nicer chunk of revenue than expected. I was really looking forward to checking this out, but was quickly disappointed in finding out that the storyline was weak.

When the Lambert family moves into a new home, strange things start to happen. All of the strange goings on seem to be centered around the family’s young son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins). In a rare occurrence in horror films, the family leaves what they feel was a haunted house. Things are not better though in the new home and young Dalton still seems to be the target.

One of the first things that bugged me about this movie is the trailers and posters would lead you to believe this is a possessed, creepy kid film. However, young Dalton slips into a coma early in the film and he basically is just lying there while things continue to happen around him.

The other problem I had was most of the scares had nothing to do with the plot. Ghosts and other occurrences seemed to be added in for the sole purpose of making you jump. Once you learn the true plot and what’s really going on, these extra ghosts make even less sense. I felt like I was being completely manipulated and I was more on a scary ride than a story with any substance. I’m all for a good scare, but they really dropped the ball on this one.