Insidious: Chapter 2
Insidious: Chapter 2 | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | James Wan |
Screenplay by | Leigh Whannell |
Story by | James Wan Leigh Whannell |
Produced by | Jason Blum Oren Peli |
Starring | Patrick Wilson Rose Byrne Lin Shaye Ty Simpkins Barbara Hershey |
Cinematography | John R. Leonetti |
Edited by | Kirk Morri |
Music by | Joseph Bishara |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | FilmDistrict Stage 6 Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes[2] |
Countries | United States Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[3] |
Insidious: Chapter 2 is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. It is a sequel to 2011's Insidious. The film stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released on September 13, 2013.
Plot
![]() | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2013) |
The movie begins in 1986, at the Lambert's residence in California. Carl, a medium who was helping the Lambert family was struggling to overcome the events around the welfare of Josh, as he feels Josh is haunted and is accompanied by an evil spirit in the household. Feeling helpless, Carl attempts to find a solution with the help of Elise Rainier (who is killed in the end of the first Insidious), in hope she can be of help. Although Elise initially does not feel unsettled, upon interrogating Josh she finds there is a greatly sinister spirit haunting the house once she is injured during the interrogation. When Elise explains to Josh's mother that Josh has the ability to leave his human body through astral-projection, the young Josh stands whiles still asleep, saying the words to an unknown presence "I'll show you". He sleep-walks over to the hallway, where he points to a door which begins to open by itself. Elise, Karl and Mrs Lambert drag the sleeping Josh back into the living room, where Elise tells Mrs Lambert that she can make all of this go away by making Josh forget everything.
The scene then suddenly changes to the modern day, where Renai Lambert is shown discussing the homicide of Elise with a detective. Although the detective agrees that there is indeed an image of a old woman in a photograph taken by Elise, seconds before her death, the detective refuses to believe Elise was murdered by a spirit, and only seeks to punish the mortally present -- Josh Lambert. The suspicions of the detective lead to self-doubt by Renai, who was convinced by a visually settled looking Josh Lambert minutes after the death of Elise that it is his own soul in the body of the mortal Josh Lambert, and not that of the old woman. At Lorraine Lambert's (Josh's mother) home, Josh, Renai and their children are living temporarily while the police continue in the search of Elise's killer. Everything seems fine, but Renai is still jumpy after the things she has seen. She confronts Josh about her feelings who becomes upset with her, Josh feels that Renai isn't jumpy about other ghosts, but is concerned if the spirit within Josh is Josh and not another spirit. Josh then finally manages to convince Renai Lambert that the mortally present Josh Lambert is indeed occupied by the spirit of Josh Lambert, and that no other soul, specifically the old woman from The Further, managed to invade the mortal Josh Lambert during the saving of Dalton's soul.
Although everything seems alright after Renai was convinced by Josh, Renai is troubled by weird sounds, inanimate objects moving by themselves, creaking noises, and sounds of the piano playing itself, but Josh keeps telling her, trying to convince her not to worry about it and that the ordeal is over. One night Lorraine is walking within the house; she goes to check on the sleeping Dalton to make sure he's okay. Dalton, in his sleep, says to her that there is "someone standing behind her". Lorraine looks back, but sees nothing. She begins to wander around the house in search for the woman. She goes to the bathroom to rinse her face and take her medicine. Looking into the bathroom mirror, she sees a woman dressed in white standing at the doorway. She panics and goes to the doorway, to be confronted by Josh who tells her to keep the sightings of the ghosts to herself as to not worry the rest of the family. However Renai, still unconvinced of the events happening, decides to look into things.
Before Renai can investigate what the cause is, she is plagued by a much larger issue. One day she manages to catch a glimpse of a woman sitting in her living room in a white Victorian era dress. Renai follows the woman in white through the house, until she comes to the bedroom where Renai's baby daughter Kelly is held, and as she tries to go in, the door to the room is slammed shut on Renai, and she tries to get in. On the other side of the door, Renai hears the woman in white talking to her baby, followed by shouting, a loud slap and Renai's daughter crying. She barges through the door to find the room empty and her daughter missing. In panic, Renai rushes downstairs after hearing her daughter's cry, Renai looks around in desperation but could not find her daughter anywhere. In her desperation, Renai is then caught off guard and is attacked by the woman in white who says "How dare you!" and slaps her so hard Renai falls unconscious for hours.
Meanwhile, Lorraine, troubled by the strange sightings, and the way Josh has been acting, decides to visit Specks and Tucker (the two paranormal investigators who worked with Elise when she was alive) to try and see if there was a way they could help her to uncover the strange goings-on, Specks and Tucker are unable to help her, but when Lorraine says "if only Elise was still here" they then remember on who to contact. Carl, the spirit medium from 1986, appears at Elise's house, where he apologises for not contacting them through fear of what he saw back then. He listens to Lorraine's story, and decides to contact Elise from the other side with the usage of word dice to allow Elise to reply to their questions. Lorraine, Specks and Tuck sit around a circular table as Carl begins to ask Elise questions. He rolls the word dice and asks Elise if she is there, and three dice placed together made the word "yes". He then asks Elise "who killed you?", rolls the dice and gets the reply "she did." Carl then asks, "where is she?" rolls the dice to get the reply "hiding." They then ask where, and Elise tells them about an abandoned hospital that Lorraine used to work at, where Lorraine said that the ordeal with Josh had first begun.
Back at Lorraine's home, Josh had returned home to find Renai on the floor unconscious, a visually troubled Josh can be seen trying to pick up Renai from the floor, but his personality then changes as he begins to sniff Renai's hair.
Renai regains consciousness, claiming that their baby has been stolen, but Josh calms her and shows that their daughter is in the cot and is fine. Renai attempts to convince Josh that something is attacking them again and that they must move away because of what happened, a stubborn Josh denies her request and explains that their problems would disappear if they ignore them. Just then, both Renai and Josh hear the piano playing, they go together to find the cause of the sound, but there is no one present at the piano. Reneai then realizes that the tune being played on the piano is the one she made for Josh, but when she tells Josh this, Josh shows no memory of this. Due to rising suspicion from Renai about Josh's well-being, Josh rushes Renai out of the room, telling her not to worry and as Josh looks back into the room he smiles and says "you're staying in the shadows." As he leaves, the real Josh in astral-projection form is sitting at the piano where he begins to scream in panic. The next morning, Dalton speaks to his mother Renai about his reappearing nightmares involving the dead and the old woman, but most importantly, he is greatly troubled by what he has seen in his father. The night Renai confronts Josh about seeing the woman in their house, Dalton manages to see from a corner of a hallway in the house his father Josh scolding him self profusely, and speaking to another individual and remarking how the other individual must leave or go away. Dalton, clearly aware of the fact that nobody else was with Josh when he was speaking, insinuates to Renai that the mortal Josh Lambert is not occupied by the soul of the spiritual Josh Lambert.
Lorraine, Specks, Turner, and Carl go to the hospital and Carl helps them find the right room. Lorraine remembers the room as an ICU unit she worked in, and where everything started.
Back in 1989, it shows Lorraine and Josh walking into the room, and they see an old patient named Parker who is asleep. Josh looks away, and suddenly Parker attacks him, and the nurses hold him down and Lorraine and her son Leave. Later, it shows Lorraine getting on an elevator, and Parker gets on, and she tries to make small talk with him and he does not respond. They arrive on their floor and he gets off and she goes to the receptionist and asks her why Parker is up and walking. The receptionist then explains that Parker had jumped off of the building that morning, and died.
Back in the present, Lorraine, Specks, Turner, and Carl go to find the records on Parker, and find out where his old house was. They investigate, and find it abandoned. They go up to Parker's room and find a little girl who tells them to go before her mother finds them and she has to kill them. They enter another room to find people sitting down in rows under cloths, and they find a chest full of newspaper articles on a serial killer who wore a black wedding dress. They find the black wedding dress on a manikin and Carl puts his hand on it to find out what went on with it. He sees a man putting on women's makeup and murdering a young woman. They figure out that Parker is a serial killer who puts on a woman's black wedding dress and kills young woman, which explains the people under the cloths, who are his victims.
Cast
- Patrick Wilson as Josh Lambert
- Garrett Ryan as young Josh
- Rose Byrne as Renai Lambert
- Ty Simpkins as Dalton Lambert
- Lin Shaye as Elise Ranier
- Lindsay Seim as young Elise
- Barbara Hershey as Lorraine Lambert
- Jocelin Donahue as young Lorraine
- Steve Coulter as Carl
- Hank Harris as young Carl
- Leigh Whannell as Specs
- Angus Sampson as Tucker
- Andrew Astor as Foster Lambert
- Danielle Bisutti as Mother of Parker Crane
- Tom Fitzpatrick as Bride in Black / Old Parker
- Tyler Griffin as young Parker
- Michael Beach as Detective Sendal
- J. LaRose as Long-haired fiend
- Brooke Peoples as Neighbor Jessica
- Edwina Findley as Front Desk Nurse Hillary
- Stephanie Pearson as Dark-haired woman
- Jorge Pallo as Brian
- Priscilla Garita as Natalie
- Jenna Ortega as Annie
- Dannay Rodriguez as Allison
Production
Development
"It’s a direct continuation from the end of the first film, so it’s the same characters, same actors coming back. But where the first movie plays like a classic haunted house film, the second one plays more like a domestic thriller with supernatural elements to it."
—Wan, on the shift in genre[4]
After the financial success of Insidious in April 2011, discussions for a sequel soon followed. With producer Jason Blum insisting on the return of director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, a treatment script did not arrive until nearly a year later. "As long as there was a chance that James and Leigh were gonna write the second movie and direct the second movie, I didn’t want to do it with someone else," said Blum. "They kept saying they might do it, they might not do it, which was why there’s quite a bit of time between the two movies."[5] On February 2, 2012, it was announced that director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell were in talks to return for the sequel.[6]
While promoting The Conjuring (2013) at New York Comic Con in October 2012, Wan described how he and Whannell were working closely on developing the story and the script for the follow up to Insidious, explaining to ShockTilYouDrop.com, "I think the sequel to Insidious is kind of my reaction to Saw where for my own reason I wasn't as involved in the sequels, and so I felt with Insidious, think it would be good to shepherd it and keep it more in track to the version I had when I made the first film so that it doesn't detour too far."[7]
The film received the title of Insidious: Chapter 2 because it is a direct continuation of the first installment.[8] However, the tone of the film will be more grounded than in the first film, with Wan citing his work on The Conjuring as an influence to how he and Whannell approached Insidious: Chapter 2.[4] "I pulled things from Insidious that I applied to The Conjuring, and what I learned from The Conjuring I applied to Insidious 2," said Wan. "So for me, I feel like it’s a cumulative filmmaking experience that I’ve gathered over the years."[9]
Casting
On November 19, 2012, it was officially announced that Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins will reprise their roles from the first film.[10] The following month it was announced that Barbara Hershey will also be returning.[11] In February 2013, Jocelin Donahue and Lindsay Seim rounded out the cast as younger versions of Hershey and Shaye's characters, respectively.[12][13] It was also confirmed that the film's screenwriter Leigh Whannell and actor Angus Sampson will reprise their roles as Specs and Tucker, respectively. When asked about the return of the two characters, Whannell explained, "There was this hatred that spewed out from fans saying 'I hated those guys! They sucked! They ruined the movie!' so there will probably be a lot of people out there who will be disappointed to hear that the Specs and Tucker characters will be coming back."[14]
Filming
Principal photography for Insidious: Chapter 2 began on January 15, 2013 in Los Angeles.[10] Having a slightly higher production budget than its predecessor, the film was captured over the course of 25 shooting days.[15] A large portion of filming took place at the Linda Vista Community Hospital. In addition to the defunct hospital being redressed as its former hospital setting,[16] sets from the first film were recreated on the location (including the living room to the Lambert family's second house).[17]
Music
The musical score to Insidious: Chapter 2 is composed by Joseph Bishara,[18] who previously collaborated with director James Wan on the first installment as well as The Conjuring. "Finding the right range and tone for the feeling is an important part," described Bishara on generating tension through sound. "James is very particular with sting placement along with Kirk, our editor on both Insidious films and Conjuring. Silence can create a listening space, where rather than give you something else to listen to it enables you to hear things."[19]
A soundtrack album for the film was released digitally on September 10 and will be released on CD and Vinyl on October 8, 2013 by Void Recordings.[20]
Distribution
Marketing
Prior to being official announced, Sony Pictures Entertainment registered various domain names on November 28, 2011 for Insidious: Chapter 2.[21] On January 30, 2013, the first picture from the set of the film was released via writer Leigh Whannell's Twitter account.[22] Additional behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the film were released the following month.[23] In April 2013, the first promotional poster for the film went on display at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.[24] The first theatrical trailer for the film was screened to a live audience on location at the Linda Vista Community Hospital on June 4, 2013, with an online release the following day.[25] On August 10, 2013, it was announced at the convention Scare L.A by producer Jason Blum and Universal's creative director John Murdy, that a maze attraction entitled "Insidious: Into the Further" will featured at the 2013 Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.[26]
Theatrical release
While originally intended to be released on August 30, 2013,[10] Insidious: Chapter 2 was rescheduled for a September 20 release date.[27] The film's release date was later moved again to September 13, 2013,[1] which "happens" to be the infamous "Friday the 13th".
On the night prior to its theatrical wide release, the film was shown in select theatres as part of a double feature with the first installment.[28] A red carpet premiere for the film was held in Los Angeles on September 10, 2013.[29]
Reception
Box office
Preliminary reports have the film tracking for a $32–$35 million debut in North America.[30][31] The film earned $1.5 million from its Thursday night showings,[32] and reached a $20 million Friday total, making it the biggest opening day in September box office history.[33]
Critical response
Insidious: Chapter 2 has received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes sampled 60 reviews and judged that 42% of the reviews to be positive.[34] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 48 (out of 100) based on seven reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[35]
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film a positive review, stating that "the scares are mostly very scary indeed, and that means the film does its job."[36] Scott Foundas of Variety praised the "artfully eerie" cinematography work of John R. Leonetti and the "pervasively unsettling atmosphere" constructed by sound designer and editor Joe Dzuban. Foundas further wrote that "where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious: Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldn’t at all mind returning to again."
Conversely, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times commented, "After the pleasurable free fall into old-fashioned nightmare artistry that was last summer's The Conjuring, this busy-yet-dull sequel feels like Wan robotically flexing his manipulation of fright-film signposts, an exercise more silly than sinister."[37] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Setting aside the movie’s tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predicable scares, the narrative’s compulsively shifting chronology intermittently manages to engage, although it does little to obscure the distracting shortcomings of both plot and character development."[38]
Sequel
On September 12, 2013, when asked about returning for another sequel if Wan were to pursue him, Wilson stated that he "[doesn't] know if [James Wan] would". Wilson went on to say that he "[doesn't] know where else it could go", and that "[Josh Lambert has] been through the ringer, and I think the movie sets it up well at the end [...] And that's great, that's how it should end."[39]
References
- ^ a b Schaefer, Sandy (May 2013). "New Release Dates for 'Kung Fu Panda 3′, 'Insidious 2′, 'I, Frankenstein' and 'Pompeii'". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "INSIDIOUS - CHAPTER 2 (15)". E1 Films. British Board of Film Classification. August 19, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ "Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Day, Patrick Kevin (May 29, 2013). "'Insidious: Chapter 2′ director James Wan on weird, surreal horror". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Nemiroff, Perri (September 10, 2013). "'Insidious Chapter 2' Producer Talks Micro-Budget Horror & 'Amityville: Lost Tapes'". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ Kit, Borys (February 2, 2012). "Horror Hit 'Insidious' to Get Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Douglas, Edward (October 14, 2012). "NYCC Exclusive: James Wan & Patrick Wilson on Insidious 2". Crave Online. ShockTilYouDrop.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Foutch, Haleigh (May 29, 2013). "25 Things to Know about INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 from Our Set Visit". Collider.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Foutch, Haleigh (September 11, 2013). "James Wan Talks INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, Why He Wanted to Make a Sequel, Taking a Break from Horror, FAST & FURIOUS 7, & the Genre He Wants to Try Next". Collider.com. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ a b c Kit, Borys (November 19, 2012). "Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne Coming Back for 'Insidious' Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (December 11, 2012). "Barbara Hershey Back For 'Insidious Chapter 2′". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (February 4, 2013). "Donahue to 'Insidious' role". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (February 28, 2013). "Lindsay Seim Enters 'Insidious 2′ Role". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Exclusive: Writer/Actor Leigh Whannell Confirms Specs and Tucker Characters to Return for Insidious 2". Dead Central. February 17, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Insidious Chapter 2 - Q&A with Jason Blum, Leigh Whannell, Patrick Wilson, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey and James Wan". Dead Central. May 30, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "The Further Hauntings". Film Journal International. 116 (9). Prometheus Global Media: 12. September 2013.
- ^ Dickson, Evan (May 29, 2013). "[Special Report] Getting Answers And Escaping Ghosts On The Set Of 'Insidious Chapter 2′!!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Barkan, Jonathan (November 19, 2012). "James Wan Confirms Joseph Bishara Back As Composer For 'Insidious Chapter 2'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ^ Schweiger, Daniel (September 10, 2013). "Interview with Joseph Bishara". Film Music Magazine. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ "'Insidious: Chapter 2′ Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ^ "Insidious 2 is in the works according to domain registrations by Sony Pictures". Fusible. November 30, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "First Photo From the Set of Insidious Chapter 2". CraveOnline. Comingsoon.net. January 30, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Billington, Alex (February 1, 2013). "First Look: Candles and The Kid in James Wan's 'Insidious: Chapter 2'". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Weintraub, Steve (April 14, 2013). "First Posters for Spike Lee's OLDBOY and James Wan's INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2". Collider.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Edwards, Justin (June 5, 2013). "The Further Awaits In Debut INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 Trailer!". Icons of Fright. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Brigante, Ricky (August 10, 2013). "Insidious: Into the Further haunted house announced for Halloween Horror Nights 2013 at Universal Studios Hollywood". Inside the Magic. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ "Things Get 'Insidious' This September!". Bloody Disgusting. March 1, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (August 28, 2013). "INSIDIOUS and INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 Double Feature Screening on Thursday, September 12th". Collider.com. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ Kirby, Iona (September 11, 2013). "A rose for a Rose! Miss Byrne is stunning in a flower print pink dress which reveals her slim legs at Insidious: Chapter 2 premiere". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
- ^ Subers, Ray (September 12, 2013). "Forecast: 'Insidious 2' Poised to Possess Audiences on Friday The 13th". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (September 12, 2013). "'Insidious: Chapter 2' to spook 'The Family' at box office". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Lang, Brent (September 13, 2013). "'Insidious: Chapter 2′ Racks Up $1.5M at Thursday Box Office". The Wrap. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Mendelson, Scott (September 14, 2013). "Friday Box Office: 'Insidious Chapter 2' Scares Up $20m on Friday the 13th". Forbes. Forbes Publishing. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ "Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ "Insidious: Chapter 2". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Collin, Robbie (September 12, 2013). "Insidious: Chapter 2, review". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Abele, Robert (September 12, 2013). "Review: 'Insidious: Chapter 2' adds nothing to the story". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Lowe, Justin (September 12, 2013). "Insidious: Chapter 2: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Patrick Wilson On Why There Won't Be an 'Insidious 3' and His Love for 'Conjuring' Director James Wan | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews | Indiewire
External links
- 2013 films
- 2013 horror films
- 2010s horror films
- 2010s thriller films
- American films
- American horror films
- American thriller films
- English-language films
- Films directed by James Wan
- Films shot in Los Angeles, California
- Haunted house films
- Independent films
- Supernatural horror films
- Blumhouse Productions films
- IM Global films
- FilmDistrict films