INSIDIOUS was a surprise cult hit last spring with unique horror parentage. Director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell brought us SAW and launched the very influential torture horror genre. Producer Oren Peli was behind the mega hit PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The result is a slick, scary throwback to movies like POLTERGEIST — a good old fashion horror flick about possession and hauntings.
Starring a wonderful cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Bryne and Barbara Hershey, INSIDIOUS fortunately doesn’t retread any of the gritty reality look of Wan’s (or Peli’s) past work. Wilson and Byrne play the concerned parents of Dalton, their 8 year old son who seemingly remains in a coma after a head injury. While the boy is unconscious, strange things start happening in their creepy Craftsman house – that looks like it’s located somewhere in the heart of old Pasadena. Strange faces in the shadows, voices on the baby monitor – lots of classic horror devices to scare the stuffing out of you.
INSIDIOUS plays on the fears of being alone in an old house. It incorporates every horror cliche but imaginatively reinvents them in a fresh new light to keep a younger horror generation on the edge of their seats. If you’re expecting gore – especially from the creators of SAW – you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to rent something that will disturb and scare you, INSIDIOUS is the one to rent. Just don’t watch this alone at night!