Rodriguez Aaron Rodriguez Mr. Newman Rhetoric 101 16 October 2013.

Comparing and Contrasting Movie Reviews Much like the first of the sequel, Insidious Chapter 2 is about the family experiencing strange phenomena in their new home. Through a series of encounters with paranormal demons the family finds out that its not the house that is haunted but yet another member of the family. In the first movie, the parents Josh and Renai go to another world called The Further, to get their son Dalton out of his demon-induced coma. This time its the dad taken over by the demon who is slowly killing him. Josh is given the choice of killing his family to satisfy the demon and save his life, or sparing them and losing his own life. Insidious was considered one of the few successful scary movies in 2011 and its sequel, Insidious Chapter 2, was a highly anticipated release in September 2013. Despite the high regards for the first movie, movie critics James Berardinelli and Ian Buckwalter agree director James Wan fell short of the expected success and made a bad choice in making it a sequel, while having different views on the purpose of the film. James Wan has directed blockbuster movies including; Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring but Berardinelli and Buckwalter both agree that he fell short of his expected success with Insidious Chapter 2. Berardinelli wrote about Wan, We all know he understands how to make a good scary movie, he just doesnt execute it this time. In Buckwalters review he explained that Wans usual methods of having slow tracking shots, spooky figures appearing in the background, and the timing of the scares just seem off here. Buckwalter continued with a

Rodriguez lengthy paragraph describing Wans usual tactics and how they were not used to their potential in this movie. While both movie critics agree that James Wan did not utilize his skills to their potential, their opinions differ on what they believe the main purpose of the movie was. The cliffhanger at the end of Insidious hinted to the audience that there would be another movie to continue the story line, but Berardinelli believes the purpose of the second movie was to get them out of the hole they had dug themselves into. When James Wan was interviewed about the insidious sequel he told a reporter that he was favoring retirement after completing Insidious Chapter 2 rather than to continue directing movies. On the other hand, Buckwalter believed the sole purpose for creating this sequel was to make quick and easy money. Buckwalter wrote, Just try telling a studio executive theres no more story to be told to follow up a horror flick that made $100 million off a $1.5 million investment. Horror movie sequels are profitable but are not usually any good. Another point that both reviewers agree on more than anything is that Insidious Chapter 2 does more harm to the sequel than to develop it. Berardinelli writes, Chapter 2 is not only unnecessary but it commits the cardinal sin of devaluing its predecessor. He continues to explain that Insidious was a great movie but it is now connected to a second half thats equal parts incoherent, tedious, and repetitive which weighs down the success of the first movie. Buckwalter writes along the same lines through more than half of his three page review going into detailed comparisons about other sequels that have also done the same. He believes cinematic history is littered with classic horror films and their throwaway sequels such as: The Exorcist, Rosemarys Baby, Jaws, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, and now Insidious

Rodriguez joins the list. Both movie reviews give off a tone of disappointment towards Chapter 2 because they both believe it is not nearly as captivating as the first of the sequel. James Berardinelli and Ian Buckwalter agreed that Insidious Chapter 2 was both parts unnecessary and not up to par with James Wans usual displays while disagreeing on the reason it was made a sequel in the first place. Insidious Chapter 2 may not contain all the expected criteria an expert movie reviewer would expect for it to be a great scary movie but I believe it is still worth watching. I dont regret spending the $8.50 to watch it because its creepy storyline and nightmare-like demons was enough to give me goose bumps on a number of occasions. I was surprised the movie had such bad reviews but they are the experts for a reason. There was an even more dramatic cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 2 which suggests there will be another movie to the sequel. I am excited to see how the storyline continues in the third movie but critics might agree with Buckwalter that, the only thing worse than this movie itself is the fact that there will be another one.

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Works Cited Buckwalter, Ian. "Insidious 2: Another Example of Why Horror Sequels Don't Work."Www.theatlantic.com. N.p., 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Berardinelli, James. "Insidous Chapter 2." Reelviews Movie Reviews. N.p., 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.