Can't believe there's not a single review for this on a site full of horror mongers. I'll give it a go...

Saw this the first weekend it was released. The characters are flat. The dialogue is laughable at times, yet, it still won me over.

Every haunted house story I've ever watched on film begged the characters to move. They do in this one. Half way through the film. Yet, the entities follow them.

Once they bring in the Spiritual investigators, the story takes a nice turn. You have to buy into it, or it doesn't work. They bring in some light comedic moments. But, the real intense scene is when the medium talks to the spirits via a WWII gas mask and has a hose connected to a colleague"s headphones to interpret. Flash bulbs pop, catching imagery.

Again, you have to buy into the story. If you don't, you'll laugh at its logistics. Then again, we are talking about the supernatural, something none of us know anything about.

Brilliantly directed. The water faucet drips. The grandfather clock ticks... All adding tension. It makes you sit uneasy in your chair. It Starts with the use of old Hitchcock horror. The unseen. Then it has a solid go at the climax.

I recommend it, maybe not for a top dollar view, but a matinee? Definitely.

James

This is the scariest movie ever. Seriously. I almost pooped. the tagline should be "Bring toilet paper".

~Zack~

I enjoyed it...I wish I scared easier though

Just saw it last night.

The scariest movie ever?  Huh?  You fucking kidding me?  Oh boy...

I thought the first 15 minutes or so were ultra dull and boring, and I literally fell sleep.  Things pick up when the move to the new house and there are actually a few good scares with "things" in the background all of a sudden...quick flashes, glimpses, wild music.

Then, we go into a new direction with the "paranormal investigators, and a silly vibe is added.  From there we get a cliche seance of sorts and things go a bit overboard, not scary, a bit silly, and definitely in another new direction.

And then, finally, Whannell and Wan decide to go balls out with a finale that features what the call astral projection.  This is where everything completely falls apart, IMO.  ll the ghosts and demons are in full view, for a number of seconds at a time, and they completely lose their fear factor.  Just downright goofy.

Tack on a "twist" ending and there you go...a modern retelling of Poltergeist, only lacking enjoyable, memorable characters, and enjoyable, memorable scenes.

I like Leigh Whannell and James Wan...I really do.  In may ways, you can call them geniuses with what they did with the Saw franchise...and maybe even what they achieved here.

On a $1.5 Million budget, they've raked in $90 Million World Wide.  They'll do a Hell of alot more on DVD, Blu Ray, and rentals as well.  Shocking, actually.

I give them all the credit in the world for that, but as a movie for me, no way...didn't work at all, but I guess I'm not the intended audience.

Just watched this.

Overall, I thought it was brilliant.

Had a bit of everything and I found it genuinely it creepy.

That particular edge went when they reached the astral plane, but I still enjoyed it.

Quite an amazing accomplishment on such a small budget.

The kids dancing still creeps me out.

I also love love love Lin Shaye and will watch her in anything.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films Overall, I thought it was brilliant.

Brilliant?  BRILLIANT?  For reals?  What the...

Hmmm, I remember thinking how goofy it was, especially the finale.

Oh well, it made bucks and obviously some liked and loved it, so there you go.

Different strokes for all us different folks.

I wouldn't say it was brilliant. Here's what it did:

It told a complicated story simply and cheaply. That alone is something.

Quoted from Dreamscale Brilliant?  BRILLIANT?  For reals?  What the... Hmmm, I remember thinking how goofy it was, especially the finale. Oh well, it made bucks and obviously some liked and loved it, so there you go. Different strokes for all us different folks.

It was far from flawless.

The tone went downhill a bit when the paranormal investigators turned up, and it was definitely goofy at the end.

As you said in your review...better when you don't really see things. Doesn't work the same when you can see the actors close up.

Despite that I still really enjoyed it. Just felt very fresh to me, despite scenes that should have felt derivative.

Horror is pretty much impossible to do well, there are so few story-lines to choose from, you're never more than a false step away from disaster with any set piece that any film that I enjoy and puts the shits up me a bit, I consider brilliant.

I love Patrick Wilson, but the second half of this film sucked Night Owl balls.

The first half was great. it was tense. it had a decent, albeit cliched, set up. but it was intriguing and really well made.

and then the investigators showed up and things went down hill....fast. the climax was totally reminiscent of a 90's horror flick (or an episode of power rangers). you know what's not scary? dutch camera angles zooming in on costumed ghouls.

if you're in the mood for some scares. turn insidious off halfway through. if you're in the mood for some laughs, turn it on halfway through.

Hate to say but I didn't like this.  A friend recommended I get it and so I ran out, rented it, and I just don't see what she saw. It was one of my least liked of all times maybe.

I saw this one a long time ago, but I do remember Darth Maul scaring the crap out of me when he suddenly appeared from nowhere behind Patrick Wilson. I did like this one overall though, good movie.

Quoted from Dreamscale On a $1.5 Million budget, they've raked in $90 Million World Wide.

That's impressive. I never realized this movie had such a small budget.

I agree with everyone who said that the first half was pretty good, but it was down hill from there.
Although, I did enjoy the second half, it was definitely a completely different tone and pretty much a different movie.

I was more impressed with the marketing and ROI.
The same for DEVIL INSIDE.


TROLL HUNTER is the only decent low budget horror I've seen in a while. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/

THE SCRIPT was terrific!