Because “Insidious” is about a boy possessed by demons, we expected that it would be scary, but we did not expect to be hiding behind our hands and gasping the entire time.
Although “Insidious” was only rated PG-13, we thought that it should’ve been rated R because of the fear factor. It was definitely one of the scariest movies that we have ever seen.
“Insidious” is about a teacher, Josh (Patrick Wilson), his wife Renai (Rose Byrne), and their three children, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Foster (Andrew Astor), and their baby daughter. After their son Dalton falls from a ladder, hits his head, and doesn’t wake up the next morning, he spends three months in a coma in the hospital. Still in a coma, he returns home and strange things happen, which is where the horror begins.
In the beginning of the movie, it was shown that the family lived in the creepiest house ever. Books randomly fall off of shelves, which is red flag number one.
Renai is an aspiring musician who wanted to move into the house to inspire her to write songs. The only time viewers ever see her playing the piano is for about two minutes, she hears strange voices whispering in her daughter’s room through the baby monitor, followed by a loud demonic scream. Red flag number two.
Josh feels the creepiness in the house as well and never wants to come home from work, which leaves Renai to fend for herself and her children. However, it is not until an actual apparition-slash-demon tries to grab her from her bed that she decides it would be a good time to leave the house. Red flag number three.
After the family moves once again to a new house, they discover that it was not the house that was haunted. It was them, specifically their son Dalton. They call in the professionals, or “ghostbusters,” who provide much-needed comic relief. The professionals, along with Josh’s mother, help the two troubled parents as they try to get their son back and stop the terrors.
The horror scenes and suspense in this movie were incredible. There was barely any blood in “Insidious,” and the ghost/demon imagery really did not get heavy until the end. Where most movies are full of suspense, “Insidious” is full of just straight horror.
Wilson and Byrne did a great job playing their roles as parents. Although the children did not play a significant part in the movie, they too did a great job when they were on screen.
For people who do not handle scary movies well, don’t go see this in theaters. Rent it. For those who love to be scared out of your seat, then “Insidious” is a must-see.
Hilary Weidner and Elizabeth Tauber are A&E Editors for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.