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Movie Review – Insidious: The Red Door
I’m a huge fan of the Insidious series. It’s unfortunate that these films get lumped in with The Conjuring, simply because James Wan directed the first two installments, and Patrick Wilson played a role in both franchises. The similarities end there, if you ask me. The Conjuring uses dry, recycled religious themes, and under the ambiguity of claiming “Based on A True Story”, it glorifies two people who were likely either scam artists or delusional. Insidious, however, creates a universe all its own, executes jump scares at unexpected moments, and possesses a continuity of characters and plot that is a rare treasure among horror movie sequels. That being said, on to my review of Insidious: The Red Door.
Though I tried to resist it, I got the feels right away at the onset of this film. I was presented with a family I had followed for two films prior to The Red Door (Insidious 1 and 2), who had children the same ages as mine. I recognized them and their story, and I was immediately invested.
The plot gets laid out pretty quickly, but doesn’t come across as forced. Josh Lambert (father) and Dalton Lambert (son) were hypnotized nine years ago — something they both wanted and volunteered to undergo — after the traumatic events of Insidious 1 & 2. Josh and Dalton are astral projectors (people who are able to travel to other places in their sleep, an out-of-body experience they remember upon waking). While innocently traveling in his dreams, ten year old Dalton ended up in The Further, a shadowy realm where demonic presences latch onto humans and use them to enter our world. (You don’t want to end up in The Further. You never know what might be lurking in the swirling fog or the distant blackness. It could be a dead-eyed woman with a giant smile. Or a mangled body crawling toward you at lightning speed.)
Josh is able to save Dalton from The Further in the first film, but ends up trapped there himself in the second. Needless to say, these two come out worse for the wear and decide to erase their memory of the whole thing using good old-fashioned hypnosis, which always works in horror movies. (That’s okay… No movie is without its tropes!)
Patrick Wilson directing this new installment was a fantastic idea. His understanding and appreciation of the Insidious universe comes to life. The 1 hour and 47 minute run time is full of creepy visuals that keep things rolling, some that made even my horror-desensitized brain feel a little on edge. I enjoyed seeing familiar specters from the previous films alongside brand new ones. And I felt that I cared about the characters. Well, mostly…
When they introduced Dalton’s new friend, Chris, I thought she might be a refreshing addition. Unfortunately, her character felt, to me, like a failed attempt at filling the shoes of recurring characters, Specs and Tucker, who bring comic relief to the Insidious movies with their nonchalant geek squad vibe. Chris didn’t take things seriously, often distracting me from the suspense of a scene. She didn’t make me giggle like Specs and Tucker do. But I’ll forgive her… because Dalton needed a friend quirky enough to believe him. Who else but a free-spirited art student would believe that, while sleeping, Dalton had entered a dark and dangerous world in his dreams, unable to remember his childhood trauma of being captured by the demon who lives there, and led that demon back into his life?
I kinda missed the Spectral Sightings crew — Spec and Tucker, and of course, Elise Rainier, played by the incomparable Lin Shaye. But they weren’t necessary here. The story in The Red Door lies with the Lambert Family.
There are parallels between this family and my own — their three children so close in ages to mine, their love for one another, their troubles — so perhaps I can easily relate. In Insidious: The Red Door, the Lamberts have gone to Hell and back. Their dark past has shaken them to their core, and ultimately divided them. They must pull together, and come through for each other once more. But even if the Lamberts survive The Further again, they can never be sure their nightmare is truly over.
This movie gets 5 out of 5 stars. I loved it. I paid $5.99 to rent it on Google. No regrets. I plan to buy the DVD next to complete our Insidious collection. I recommend watching the other four first if you haven’t! Thanks for reading! Keep it spooky out there!
The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Most Disturbing Moments In Horror
Today’s topic is The Dirty Dozen, twelve of the most disturbing moments in horror. The selections in my countdown are based on two things: scares that made me jump or shift uncomfortably in my seat and scenes that stuck with me long after the credits had rolled. WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN A TON OF HORROR MOVIES, THIS LIST MIGHT BE A *SPOILER OVERLOAD* FOR YOU. I can’t make this list without including some spoilers. You’ve been warned. Now onto the countdown….
#12: Candyman – chest full of bees
In this dark urban nightmare, main character Helen tries to uncover the truth behind the legend of Candyman. A hundred years ago, a young black man was tortured for his love of a white woman. His hand was hacked off with a rusty saw before he was covered in honey and thrown to the bees. Slowly and miserably, he died. Now, if you look into the mirror and say his name five times, you’re dead meat. Or so the story goes. But what’s really going on? Helen wants to find out. Soon she finds herself in a game of cat and mouse and discovers exactly what Candyman’s got beneath that wicked trench coat.
#11: The Amityville Horror – dead guy in the bathroom
Remakes are widely criticized (and often by myself!), but when it comes to tired, old movies I never cared for in the first place (i.e the original 1979 Amityville Horror), I’m all for a revamp. I thought this one was well done, and there was a particular scene that made me jump an inch from my couch cushion. The little boy needs to pee in the middle of the night, and… and… BAM! DEAD GUY IN THE BATHROOM!
#10: The Haunting – whose hand was I holding?
Certain classics hold a place in my heart, and this 1963 film is one of them, not to mention that it’s based on a novel by one of my favorite authors, Shirley Jackson. In this scene, Eleanor begins to hear frightening voices, wicked laughter, and crying children through the walls at night. She holds her friend’s hand for comfort as this goes on for a few minutes. When she can’t take it any longer, she screams, the lights come on, and she’s shocked with the realization that there is no one beside her holding her hand as she’d thought.
#9: Hostel – holy shit… her eye!
I’ve only watched this scene twice. That was enough. The Hostel movies are a bit much for me because I get so darn MAD at the bad guys. What a bunch of sickos, eh? The cherry on top was the scene in which a pretty young female loses her eye. Sure, it’s fake as hell and the puss (yellow slime?) wouldn’t really ooze from that wound, but this knowledge doesn’t stop the bile from rising as you watch it. Sometimes corny gore is still quite effective. It’s like a Dead Alive moment for me, and I love it. I’ve included a rather tame picture of the “after” wound here, as I don’t want anyone tossing their cookies.
#8: The Wicker Man – those bitches!
What else can be said about those evil bitches at the end of The Wicker Man? Yikes!
#7: The Sentinel – man in the bedroom
In this 1977 film, a young woman’s apartment is the gateway to Hell. That being said, I’ll be honest: the movie tends to drag on in parts and might not hold every horror fan’s attention, but some of the imagery, like the old, dead, mostly naked man power-walking across her dark bedroom, simply cannot be beat.
#6: Mirrors – that moment when a relaxing bath turns brutal
I think what makes this scene in Mirrors so creepy is the loss of self-control. The victim becomes a puppet to herself, or rather, to her evil reflection in the mirror. She is forced to grab her own jaw and yank and yank until…
#5: The Devil’s Rejects – I am the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s work
Few modern horror movie scenes compare to the intensity in this one. Every time I view it, I am forced to picture myself on the other end of this murdering psycho’s wrath and wonder… what could I do to escape him? How does a person summon dignity and hope in the face of a killer as vicious and uncaring as Otis Driftwood?
#4: Night Of The Living Dead (1990) – opening scenes
Hey, looky there. Bill Moseley has back-to-back roles on my countdown, as he plays the annoying brother in the graveyard scene of this cult remake. But this time it’s not Mr. Moseley who brings the terror to life, but the freshly risen zombies who begin to shamble on scene, attacking him and running our heroine’s car into a tree. From there, all the fun begins.
#3: Insidious – the red demon appears
I don’t even want to spoil this one by saying where or when the demon pops up. Rest assured, it scared the crap out of me when it did!
#2: Juon – the ghost’s descent down the staircase
Listen to me, Americans… FORGET THE GRUDGE. The Grudge SUCKS compared to Takashi Shimizu’s original Japanese version, Juon. There are so many wonderful scares in this movie, but the piece de resistance is the bloody woman on the staircase. Her broken, sketchy movements and relentless eye contact seemed to go on FOREVER the first time I saw this scene. Brilliant.
#1: Pet Sematary – meet Zelda
Over the years, I have made jokes about forming a Zelda support group for all the people who were under 14 when they first saw Pet Sematary. I’m not sure if the imagery of Zelda has the same scarring effect on the fully developed adult brain as it does on the adolescent brain, but one thing is for sure (and I’m not exaggerating here), I’ve met at least twenty people who suffered from crippling Zelda fear during childhood. If you’re one of them *HUGS* you’re not alone. You’re not alone.
So there you have it. My Dirty Dozen Top Twelve Horror Movie Moments. Feel free to share yours in the comments below or contact me personally. I might do a reader-submitted version of this blog if I get enough feedback! Thanks for reading! Keep it ghastly!
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