Analysing Films - Insidious

Insidious is a 2011 independent American psychological horror film. Written by Leigh Whannell and directed by James Wan, the film featured Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey in starring roles. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts/ demons in an astral dimension. Insidious was a very successful horror movie.
The characters in insidious make the movie very scary, this is because they make it seem real, they make the viewer on edge because they are terrified of what’s haunting their son. The old women (Lin Shaye) who tries to help their son because she’s seen it before, defiantly adds the scare factor to this film, this is because she is weird in the way she works, she evidently adds to the horror genre. Also the demons that play in this film, are terrifying, some horror films like ‘Paranormal Activity’ don’t show who the ghosts and demons are, but Insidious does which makes it even more terrifying.
The sound in this horror film also makes it scary and mysterious to the viewer; sound can play a massive part in horror movies and does in Insidious. The creepy soundtrack’s build up suspense and make the viewer think something bad is going to happen. Also when the sound goes from quite to very loud instantly (for example the shout on the baby monitor) it would make the viewer jump. The diegetic sound (speech) in this film is very intriguing and frightening, when there is speech from the demons it is very scary, and also when the adults and doctors are talking it’s also frightening because they don’t know what is up with the boy. Jump scares are a typical horror film convention in ones which are psychologically scary. The lighting most defiantly plays a part in making a horror film scary. In insidious the dark scenes often make the viewer think something bad is going to happen, and because of the dark it can be unpredictable. Also when it is daylight in horror films the viewer almost feels safe, however in Insidious some of the scary and mysterious scenes happen in the light, this is good because the viewer would not be expecting it.
Overall, Insidious is a very scary and very fun haunted house thrill ride. It depends on characters, atmosphere and sneaky happenings. It has been labeled as the “Most Terrifying Film since The Exorcist", and the Exorcist was one of the most terrifying film’s of its time (1973).