Insidious: Chapter 2 | |
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Directed by | James Wan |
Screenplay by | Leigh Whannell |
Story by |
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Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | John R. Leonetti |
Edited by | Kirk Morri |
Music by | Joseph Bishara |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | FilmDistrict [1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes [4] |
Country | United States [1] |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million [5] |
Box office | $161.9 million [5] |
Insidious: Chapter 2 is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. It is the sequel to Insidious (2010), and the second installment in the Insidious franchise, and the fourth in terms of the series' in-story chronology. 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 September 13, 2013.
Two prequels, Chapter 3 and The Last Key were released on June 5, 2015, and January 5, 2018, respectively, with a direct sequel to Chapter 2, The Red Door , released on July 7, 2023.
In 1986, Lorraine Lambert summons demonologist Elise Rainier to help her son Josh, who is being haunted by the spirit of an old woman in a black bridal gown. While searching for paranormal phenomena in their home, Elise's arm is slashed by an unseen but physical force. She insists that they must suppress Josh's astral projection abilities for his own safety and plant altered memories in his brain.
24 years later, Josh's wife, Renai Lambert, is being questioned by a detective about the death of Elise. She's warned that if the bruises on Elise's neck match Josh's hands, he'll be charged with Elise's murder. Josh, Renai, and their children – Dalton, Foster, and Kali – temporarily relocate to Lorraine's house, where they begin to encounter eerie paranormal events again. Dalton tells his mother that he has been having nightmares about a woman in a white dress, as well as hearing Josh talk to an unseen figure. Renai receives a call from the police stating that the forensic evidence did not match Josh's. A ghostly woman in a white dress then attacks Renai and Josh hears a voice urging him to kill his family.
Specs and Tucker, Elise's former associates, show Lorraine a videotape of the 1986 investigation, enhanced to reveal an adult Josh standing behind the young Josh. They contact Elise's former colleague, Carl, who attempts to contact Elise's spirit. They are instructed to find answers at an abandoned hospital, where Lorraine used to work as a physician. Lorraine recounts the story twenty-five years ago when a patient named Parker Crane, who was admitted for trying to castrate himself, had assaulted a then-young Josh. She saw Parker some days later and when she asked a nurse why he was out of bed, the nurse was perplexed, then stunned. She then told Lorraine that he had jumped to his death the day before. The group goes to the Crane family home where Lorraine is attacked by the spirit of Parker's mother, Michelle, who calls herself "Mother Mortis". She is the spirit Carl had summoned and mistakenly believed to be Elise. The group finds a secret room, containing numerous corpses, a black wedding gown, and newspaper clippings. Carl touches the gown and discovers Parker had been a serial killer known as "The Bride in Black", who abducted and murdered 15 women while dressed as a woman. Parker had been forced to kill his victims at the behest of his mother's spirit.
Josh's body begins to slowly deteriorate, the longer Parker’s dead soul occupies it, and Renai realizes Josh is possessed. Lorraine insists that they all get away from Josh. Carl, Specs, and Tucker arrive to drug him but he gains the upper hand and incapacitates them, instead. Carl awakens in the spirit realm of The Further, where he meets the spirits of the real Josh and Elise. The time moves non-chronologically there, and Josh is able to communicate with himself as a child to locate Parker's house in The Further.
Meanwhile in the physical world, the possessed Josh ambushes Lorraine and Renai. After locking Lorraine in a closet, Josh pursues Renai, and attempts to strangle her. He is then hit over the head by Dalton, who has just returned home with Foster. Renai escapes to the basement with the children and Dalton voluntarily enters The Further to help his father. There, Josh and the others find Parker's house where they witness Michelle abusing him and forcing him to act like a girl. Elise saves Josh and appears to destroy Michelle's spirit, which stops the possessed Josh from murdering his family in the real world. Carl and Josh escape and Dalton leads them back to the living world, allowing Josh to finally regain control of his body. The Lambert family is finally reunited, with Josh and Dalton once again having their memories suppressed by Carl.
Some time later, Specs and Tucker arrive at the house of a family whose daughter, Allison, is in an inexplicable coma. No one but Allison's younger sister can see Elise's spirit, who is first seen standing behind Specs and Tucker, due to the potential ability of astral projection. Elise’s spirit then passes between them and enters Allison's room. There, a terrified-looking Elise is confronted by an unseen figure, behind Allison, as a creaking sound is heard.
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.
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." [7] On February 2, 2012, it was announced that director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell were in talks to return for the sequel. [8]
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." [9]
The film was titled Insidious: Chapter 2 because it is a direct continuation of the first installment. [10] However, the tone of the film was to 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. [6] "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." [11]
On November 19, 2012, it was officially announced that Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins would reprise their roles from the first film. [12] The following month, it was announced that Barbara Hershey would also be returning. [13] In February 2013, Jocelin Donahue and Lindsay Seim rounded out the cast as younger versions of Hershey and Shaye's characters, respectively. [14] [15] It was also confirmed that the film's screenwriter Leigh Whannell and actor Angus Sampson would 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." [16]
Principal photography for Insidious: Chapter 2 began on January 15, 2013, in Los Angeles. [12] Having a slightly higher production budget than its predecessor, the film was captured over the course of 25 shooting days. [17] A bulk of the film was shot at a house in Highland Park, Los Angeles, [10] [18] which served as the location of Lorraine Lambert's house. Another location used for filming was the former Linda Vista Community Hospital, which was redressed as a hospital setting and used for the construction of interior sets (including recreations of sets from the first film). [19] [20] "I've never shot in Linda Vista," said Wan about the location. "It's kind of funny because Leigh and I have always heard so much about it. For research on the first one [Leigh] came here to do a bit of ghost-hunting. And I think a lot of that inspired us when we needed a hospital set." [20]
The musical score to Insidious: Chapter 2 is composed by Joseph Bishara, [21] 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." [22]
A soundtrack album for the film was released digitally on September 15 and in physical forms on October 8, 2013, by Void Recordings. [23] Additional songs featured in the film include: [24]
In April 2013, the first promotional poster for the film went on display at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. [25] 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. [26] 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 be featured at the 2013 Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. [27]
While originally intended to be released on August 30, 2013, [12] Insidious: Chapter 2 was rescheduled for a September 20 release date. [28] The film's release date was later moved again to September 13, 2013. [3]
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. [29] A red carpet premiere for the film was held in Los Angeles on September 10, 2013.[ citation needed ]
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $32–35 million in its opening weekend. [30] [31] It earned $1.5 million from its Thursday night showings, [32] and $20 million Friday, making it the biggest opening day in September box office history. [33] It went on to debut number one, taking in $41 million at the box office. [34] The film grossed a worldwide total of $161.9 million against a budget of $5 million. [5]
Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 38% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Insidious: Chapter 2 is decidedly short on the tension and surprises that made its predecessor so chilling." [35] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." [36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [34]
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." [37] 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." [38] 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." [39] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Setting aside the movie's tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predictable 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." [40]
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 10, 2013. [41]
On September 16, 2013, a third film in the series was announced, with Leigh Whannell signed on to return as writer while Jason Blum and Oren Peli were also set to produce. [42] When asked about returning for another sequel, actor Patrick Wilson went on to say that he "[doesn't] know where else it could go," and that "[Josh Lambert has] been through the wringer, and I think the movie sets it up well at the end... And that's great, that's how it should end." [43] On March 11, 2014, it was reported that the third film wouldn't focus on the Lambert family, but would focus on a new family and story, that it would not connect to the last teaser scene in the second film, and that Whannell and Sampson would not return as ghost hunters Specs and Tucker. On May 7, 2014, Wan tweeted that Whannell would be directing the third film, which would mark his directorial debut. [44] Stefanie Scott and Dermot Mulroney starred in the film. [45] [46] Focus Features and Stage 6 Films released Insidious: Chapter 3 on June 5, 2015.
A fourth film, Insidious: The Last Key , was announced in May 2016. Whannell returned to write, with Blum, Peli, and Wan producing, as well as Shaye reprising her role as Elise Rainier and Adam Robitel directing. [47] The film was released on January 5, 2018. [48]
In October 2020, it was announced that a direct sequel to Chapter 2 was in development. Patrick Wilson was announced as director, in addition to reprising his starring role, while Scott Teems serves as screenwriter, based on an original story by Whannell. The premise centers around a now-grown Dalton Lambert as he goes off to college, with Ty Simpkins reprising the role. Blum, Wan, Whannell, and Pelli again serve as producers. Insidious: The Red Door was produced by Blumhouse Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures, and was released on July 7, 2023. [49] [50]
Saw is a 2004 American horror film directed by James Wan in his feature directorial debut, and written by Leigh Whannell, from a story by Wan and Whannell. It is the first installment in the Saw film series, and stars Whannell alongside Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, and Ken Leung.
Patrick Joseph Wilson is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in The Full Monty (2000–2001) and Oklahoma! (2002). He co-starred in the acclaimed HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Leigh Whannell is an Australian filmmaker and actor. He has written multiple films that were directed by his friend James Wan, including Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007), Insidious (2010), and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). Whannell made his directorial debut with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and has since directed two more films, Upgrade (2018) and The Invisible Man (2020).
James Wan is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe. The lattermost is the highest-grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion. Wan is also the founder of film and television production company Atomic Monster.
Angus Sampson is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his performances as Tucker in the Insidious film series, Ray Jenkins in The Mule (2014), The Organic Mechanic in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Bear Gerhardt in the second season of Fargo, Dom Chalmers in Bump (2021-present) and Cisco in The Lincoln Lawyer (2022-present).
Lin Shaye is an American actress. In a career spanning over fifty years, Shaye has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions, which include the films Alone in the Dark (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Dead End (2003), 2001 Maniacs (2005) and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010), Ouija (2014) and its prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015), Abattoir (2016), The Final Wish (2018), Room for Rent (2019), The Grudge (2020), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), and the Insidious film series (2010–2023).
Insidious is a 2010 supernatural horror film directed and co-edited by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. It is the first installment in the Insidious franchise and the third in terms of the series' in-story chronology. The story centers on a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and the associated film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.
Sterling Jerins is an American actress known for playing Lily Bowers on the NBC series Deception, Constance Lane in World War Z, Judy Warren in The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Lila DuFresne on HBO's comedy series Divorce.
Joseph Bishara is an American composer, music producer, and actor, best known for his work scoring films such as Insidious, 11-11-11, Dark Skies, and The Conjuring. Although his career began with the 1998 Biblical drama Joseph's Gift, he composes music for mainly horror and thriller films, and has collaborated several times with director James Wan. Projects by directors John Carpenter and Joseph Zito, and musicians Ray Manzarek and Diamanda Galás have incorporated his work. In addition to composing, he frequently appears in films he is involved in, usually made up as a demon or other supernatural creature. He has also been a producer on Repo! The Genetic Opera and other projects.
Insidious is an American horror franchise created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan that has been produced by Blumhouse in association with Sony’s Stage 6 Films since 2010. The films in the franchise include Insidious (2010), Chapter 2 (2013), Chapter 3 (2015), The Last Key (2018), and The Red Door (2023). The films have grossed over $731 million worldwide on a combined budget of $42.5 million.
Insidious: Chapter 3 is a 2015 supernatural horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell in his directorial debut. The film is a prequel to the first two films and the third installment in the Insidious franchise. The film stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott, with Angus Sampson, Whannell, and Lin Shaye reprising their roles from the previous films.
The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay is by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, Wan, and David Leslie Johnson. It is a sequel to 2013's The Conjuring, the second installment in The Conjuring series, and the third installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first film. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfield council house in 1977, which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.
Insidious: The Last Key is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell. It is produced by Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and James Wan. It is the fourth installment in the Insidious franchise, and the second in the chronology of the story running through the series. Starring Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Whannell, Spencer Locke, Caitlin Gerard, and Bruce Davison, the film follows parapsychologist Elise Rainier as she investigates a haunting in her childhood home. The film is the sequel to Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) and the second prequel to Insidious (2010) and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013).
The Conjuring Universe is an American horror franchise and shared universe centered on a series of supernatural horror films. The franchise is produced by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The films present a dramatization of the supposed real-life adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting. The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves harassed by spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have encountered.
The Nun is a 2018 American gothic supernatural horror film directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman, from a story by Dauberman and James Wan. It serves as a spiritual spin-off to The Conjuring 2 and is the fifth installment in The Conjuring shared universe. The film stars Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir and Jonas Bloquet, with Bonnie Aarons reprising her role as the Demon Nun, an incarnation of Valak, from The Conjuring 2. The plot follows a Roman Catholic priest and a nun in her novitiate as they uncover an unholy secret in 1952 Romania. It is followed by a sequel The Nun II, released in 2023.
Annabelle Comes Home is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Gary Dauberman, in his directorial debut, from a story by Dauberman and James Wan, who also served as producer with Peter Safran. It serves as a sequel to 2014's Annabelle and 2017's Annabelle: Creation, and as the sixth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. The film stars Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, and Katie Sarife, along with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, with a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick from a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. The film is a sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), and the seventh installment in The Conjuring Universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard also starring. Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, which is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder trial that took place in 1981 Connecticut, in addition to The Devil in Connecticut, a book about the trial written by Gerald Brittle.
Insidious: The Red Door is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by Patrick Wilson from a screenplay by Scott Teems based on a story by Leigh Whannell and Teems. Produced by Blumhouse and Screen Gems in association with Stage 6, it is a direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), and the fifth installment in the Insidious franchise. Original director James Wan serves as a producer, as does Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, Steve Coulter, Joseph Bishara, Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Lin Shaye reprise their roles from previous films. Sinclair Daniel and Hiam Abbass join the cast.
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