Insidious: A Textbook-level Horror Movie

People who frequently watch horror movies almost have a consensus that horror films have distinct regional characteristics. For example, Asian horror films, represented by South Korea, Japan, and Thailand, are adept at creating a terrifying atmosphere, often scaring people with just a single sound effect, belonging to the "heartfelt" style. On the other hand, European horror films emphasize visual horror stimulation and gory scenes belonging to the "visceral" style.

However, Insidious is a fusion of Western supernatural and Eastern fatalistic elements, a blend of both styles.

The story of Insidious unfolds in a very American way: a family of five moves into a much larger house than they need, then strange things start happening in the house. For those familiar with the genre, this is a typical haunted house horror story, where the protagonist will inevitably have a final showdown with evil ghosts in the house. However, unexpectedly, the protagonist chooses to back down and move out.

From this point on, the story departs from the usual pattern and ultimately leads to an unexpected yet plausible ending.

As a Chinese-Malaysian director raised in Australia, James Wan has an almost obsessive love for horror films. From Saw to Dead Silence, and now Insidious and The Conjuring, he constantly innovates in the horror genre, and Insidious can be seen as the culmination of his many works.

In Insidious, there are many visually frightening elements, such as the red-faced demon, the old lady in black, various lost souls, and vengeful spirits. Each one is a fearsome character that can scare the pants off anyone with just one glare, and in terms of creating a terrifying atmosphere, this film is on par with any other horror film of its kind.

Now let's talk about the "terror" element, which is the fear triggered by experiential perception. In Insidious, there are many such setups, such as sudden alarm sounds, cabinets opening by themselves, and close-up shots of family members sleeping, all of which make you feel like something is about to happen but nothing seems to be occurring. It keeps you on edge and follows the plot with bated breath.

In addition to skillfully handling the elements that provoke fear, "horror" and "terror," this film also showcases Renny Harlin's adept use of foreshadowing. Shortly after the movie begins, the female lead and her son go through a family photo album, and there are hardly any pictures of the male lead. Later in the film, when the male and female leads are on the verge of collapse, the male lead's mother reveals the truth through her words, which ties back to the earlier scene of flipping through the photo album. This is just one of the most obvious examples of foreshadowing throughout the entire film. There are many more clues and callbacks buried in this 100-minute movie that require multiple viewings to discover these clever touches. Furthermore, if you watch the sequel to this film, you will find that many elements in Insidious were actually set up for the second installment. Even the plots of the two films can be connected into a fascinating circular structure, sparking a heated online discussion about "at what age the male lead was possessed." Few horror films can make the audience scream in terror while still engaging them in active thinking and clue hunting like this one can.

According to the conventions of horror films, whenever malevolent spirits and ghosts appear, deaths are inevitable, and usually, the more ghosts there are, the more people die. However, in this movie, there are many ghosts, but only one person dies, and that too at the end as part of a foreshadowing setup. This elevates the film to a higher level, as it gives you a constant sense of dread even though there are no actual deaths. This fear will seep into your soul, not like the fear of walking a tightrope thousands of feet above the ground, but the kind that lingers in your mind during midnight slumber, giving you haunting nightmares.

If you're interested in horror films, Insidious is a must-watch. It's like a textbook, showing you what a classic horror film should be like.