Did we need a sequel to Insidious? It’s a bit of a moot point now with several of them out there, but thinking back to the end of the first film, it was a genuine question worth asking.
On the one hand, the bleak sting of its final moments left things up in the air and a touch of anxiety about never finding out, but on the other, it would have been perfectly acceptable to leave it there and posit what-ifs for eternity.
But we did get answers three years later, as Insidious: Chapter 2 continued where the first film left off with cast and crew, including director James Wan, returning for seconds. Obviously, some spoilers for that follow.
At the end of Insidious, the Lambert family got their son’s spirit out of The Further, but at the cost of the father, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) being possessed and subsequently murdering supernatural investigator Elsie Rainier (Lin Shaye). The rest of the family is unaware of Josh’s possession or actions, and in the aftermath of the previous film’s finale, however, as the Lamberts move into the old house of Josh’s mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey).
Once there, normalcy is interrupted by Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) experiencing visions of a woman in white. Meanwhile, Josh’s behavior becomes increasingly suspect to his family. Lorraine then seeks out Elsie’s spirit-hunting partners to find out what’s going on. Ultimately. it means another trip to The Further.
Shaye’s Elsie had been a highlight of Insidious, and the question of a sequel was how do you replace her? Well, you don’t. The Further helps to give Elsie a way back into the story. It’s a shame the story is below Wan’s usual horror standards. The family drama and mysterious backstory behind their hauntings was an enticing hook, and Wan and Leigh Whannell know how important human connection is to effective horror. Yet the film is a befuddled replica of its predecessor, even going so far as to try and sting us with the ending once more. It’s a perfectly fine movie, but just not Wan at his best, and that was made very clear with a better example that same year.
James Wan Haunts Himself
Whatever you think of Insidious: Chapter 2, there’s no doubt that its own creator usurped it. Just three months previous, Wan released a different horror movie. The Conjuring rocked up. It was a breath of fresh air with a familiar aftertaste that did Insidious: Chapter 2 no favors before it came out. The tightly wound chiller, which also dealt in the supernatural and possession, was rightly lauded, and the similarities between the two only amplified the differences. The Conjuring balances the human and the supernatural more confidently than its stablemate.
On the upside, while Insidious Chapter 2 lived in the critical shadow of The Conjuring, it had a healthy box office return of over $160 million worldwide and has topped that twice with subsequent sequels. Sure, it’s dwarfed by The Conjuring’s haul of nearly twice that, but now Wan has created three bankable horror franchises (Saw being the third), and a quick look at this year’s release schedule shows there’s still plenty of room for all three to keep on going.
Insidious: Chapter 2 and its subsequent sequels haven’t been the best argument for continuing the series beyond that double whammy of an open-ended climax to the first film and the emergence of The Conjuring universe, which trod very similar ground. Insidious’ continued success as a franchise is about its characters more than its scares, which have grown stale in the later entries. Shaye, in particular, gained a late-career boost from the popularity of Elsie. Understandably, each sequel is about finding ways to bring her back into the story, whether in the flesh as a flashback or literally in spirit.
The Lamberts should be the template for the family dynamic we see in The Conjuring, but Shaye’s performance gave humanity and warmth to the kind of character who is usually gravely serious or extremely over the top. That laid the foundations for what made The Conjuring a natural successor to Insidious.
