Insidious (2010) Dir: James Wan

Schizophrenic horror that is by turns terrifying and ludicrous.
The plot:
A normal family move into a new house and, not long after, their youngest son has an accident leaving him apparently comatose.
Soon, the mother begins to believe the house is haunted; terrifying apparitions at windows, bloodied handprints on bedsheets, the sense of being watched.
That sort of thing.
After some convincing, the husband agrees to move and, wouldn't you know it, the haunting seems to have followed them. Step forward an aged medium who claims to be able to help but, in order to do so, she must send the husband out of this realm and into The Further, to save themselves and their coma-stricken son.
So let's start with the good.
The first 45 minutes or so is great. Tense, claustrophobic and genuinely frightening in places. Sure, it uses every cliched trick in the book, but it uses them well and with enough skill to send a chill up even the hardiest of horror fan's spines.
Then we get to the bad.
Once we get the big reveal, the reason behind all of the happenings and the protaganists begin to work towards a resolution, it really does veer into the absurd. No longer frightening, this seems as if the director has tapped into the thought processes of an eight year old and put them on screen. Commendably accurate given the premise of the movie, but no fun to watch at all, which is a real shame as everything started off so promisingly.
Whilst I would have given a straight 5 for the first half, I can only give a 1 for the second, so that levels out at a middle of the road 3 out of 5, I guess.

Yeah, 3 out of 5

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) Dir: Tod Williams

You know, I've seen so many horror movies I could not even begin to muster a guess at the grand total. In the thousands, I should imagine, it's got to be and, in all this time, I can honestly say that perhaps three, maybe four have genuinely scared me.
The Exorcist had me aquiverin', Candyman put the willies up me, as it were, and then....and then.....I'm already struggling to think of another
Until today.
Paranormal Activity 2, I reluctantly admit, scared the bejaysus out of me.
Whilst we are in confession mode, I must admit to not having seen the original, so have no frame of reference but, if this sequel is anything to go by, that must have been one seriously good horror movie, assuming the law of deminishing returns applies here as it does with most franchises.
The plot: A wealthy couple with a teenage daughter and a young baby move into a new house, along with their nanny. The nanny tells them that there are sinister spirits in the house, but is promptly sacked by the father when she attempts to exorcise them with some mysterious vapours. He doesn't hold with that sort of nonsense. Quickly, however, he changes his tune as, in a gradual, nerve-shredding escalation, disturbing events transpire in the home, primarily at night.
And it is heart stopping stuff.
The direction is twitchy, almost spastic, and this draws you right in to the action. Liberal application of PoV shots adds to the realism but, as is often the way, it's what you don't see that really spooks you.
Fundamentally, of course, this is not much more than a retread of Amityville, but it it is all handled so expertly that that is quickly forgiven, as blood freezing horror after blood freezing horror is presented.
I was gripping the cinema seat armrest so hard it would not have surprised me at all had the bloody thing ripped right off.
Genuinely frightening, utterly disturbing, this is a masterclass in terror.
Superb.

5 out of 5

Shelter (2010) Dir: Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein

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