Here be an online conversation between the blog owner (me) and Lawrence, who has seen the film. Twice.
tl;dr – I start the film in an excited mood, then grow grouchy. Insidious has an excellent first part – great atmosphere, effective score, cute nod to the horror films of the 80’s – but the second act is dragged down by too much exposition and back story. It creates its own myth and thus must anchor the scares on its own myth (instead of on people’s preconceived beliefs, like the Devil and Hell and the afterlife), but the myth is just a handful of words spewed by one of the characters in a single scene. It’s not strong enough to make the horror last.
(Cut for spoilers.)
<Eliza> nandito pala Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne! [Insidious] WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME?
<Lawrence> HAHAHA
<Lawrence> pang-gulat kasi
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Lawrence> di baaaaaaaaa
<Lawrence> may budget
<Eliza> saka yung bida sa Saw
<Lawrence> bilis!!! nood!!!
<Eliza> obvs credits palang ako
<Eliza> XD
<Eliza> YUNG SUMULAT NITO YUNG BIDA SA SAW!
<Eliza> pucha
<Eliza> okay it’s the same team pala. writer/director.
<Eliza> buti tinigilan na nila yung Saw franchise.
<Lawrence> o san ka na sa film
<Eliza> LUMIPAT SILA NG BAHAY.
<Eliza> i can’t believe it.
<Eliza> XD
<Eliza> kakalipat lang
<Lawrence> naappreciate ko yung lumipat sila
<Lawrence> haha
<Eliza> ako din e.
<Eliza> yung psychics, the one with the glasses, sya yung writer ng film
<Lawrence> talaga
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> yep. sya yung nasa Saw? napanood mo ba yung Saw?
<Eliza> yung isa sa mga nakakadena sa first scene
<Lawrence> madami ako napanood pero can’t tell them apart
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> haha the first one!
<Lawrence> siyet, nalito na ako sa Saw at the Hills Have Eyes
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> whaaat XD
<Lawrence> ah oo!!!
<Lawrence> naalala ko na
<Eliza> di baaaaaa
<Eliza> sya rin writer ng Saw.
<Lawrence> tumanda siya
<Eliza> haha! oo nga e
<Lawrence> siya na!
<Eliza> dyosko kelan pa ba yung Saw te
<Eliza> ayan natapos ko na!
<Lawrence> di ba nakakatawa
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> XD nakulangan ako sa atmosphere. ang bigat kasi sa plot e.
<Eliza> ang pinoy lang nung mga matatandang naka-belo.
<Lawrence> oo!!!
<Eliza> XDDD
<Lawrence> tapos naappreciate ko ang non-stereotypical na medium
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Lawrence> parang kumakampanyang kandidata eh
<Eliza> ang saya niya no
<Lawrence> actually, yung atmosphere, sa first part lang
<Lawrence> tapos nung nasabi na astral tsutsu, yun na, bumaba na
<Lawrence> or nung lumipat sila
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Lawrence> pero creepy kasi sa sinehan
<Eliza> sayang e. mas gusto ko yung mood sana. parang The Others? tapos pinasok yung The Further.
<Lawrence> natawa ako sa the further
<Eliza> nung sinabi yung The Further parang nagsusumigaw ang movie: PLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
<Lawrence> eh sa kabilang bahay lang pala
<Lawrence> hahahaha
<Eliza> so hindi na ako natakot, alam mo yun XD
<Eliza> ewan ko, sana wala na lang label
<Eliza> FILM CRITIC?!
<Eliza> FILM CRITIC KA TE
<Lawrence> tapos sana tinignan mo yung credits sa huli
<Eliza> oo tiningnan ko haha
<Lawrence> ang label sa demon ay: lipstick face (sic) demon
<Eliza> chorva. pinoy film ata to e
<Eliza> XDDD
<Lawrence> oo, but better!
<Lawrence> hahahahaha
<Lawrence> kaysa naman sa aquino starrer
<Eliza> lol. may effort naman. pero misleading lang nung first part hahaha!
<Eliza> ayan di ko tuloy ma-blog yung movie
<Eliza> bukas na nga lang ipo-process ko muna XD
<Lawrence> actually, gusto ko nga misteryo nung first part
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> i thought it’d be quieter kasi. tapos ayan may balibagan na
<Eliza> hay nako
<Lawrence> hahahaha
<Eliza> mas gusto ko build-up ng Paranormal Activity to be fair
<Eliza> HAHA
<Lawrence> hay sa sinehan sobrang ingay
<Eliza> XD
<Lawrence> ako nasiyahan naman dahil sa mga sigawan ng tao
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Eliza> e tama lang pala na di muna ako nag-movie.
<Eliza> ang weird usually nagrereklamo ako na walang istorya. dito naman ang daming istorya
<Eliza> XD
<Lawrence> haha
<Eliza> The Further ampota. parang grammatically incorrect
<Eliza> ang sama mo
<Lawrence> at, at, at!!! ang middle child syndrome, napick up mo?
<Lawrence> hahahaha
<Lawrence> magaling na actor si second child
<Lawrence> sa totoo lang
<Lawrence> haha
<Eliza> actually. kawawa naman walang masyadong exposure
<Eliza> The screenplay is written by Leigh Whannell, and the film is directed by James Wan.[4] The film was shot in Los Angeles in early 2010.[5] The film was originally called The Further. This name was then changed to The Astral, before the name Insidious was eventually settled on.
<Eliza> sabi na e
<Lawrence> HAHAHA
<Lawrence> sa totoo, nung pagsabi ni medium ng word na insidious, may sigh of relief
<Lawrence> parang siyet, matatapos na siya
<Eliza> A number of negative reviews reported that the second half of the film did not match the development of the first. Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote that “the strongest analogue for the second half of “Insidious” is one that the filmmakers probably weren’t trying for: it feels like a less poetic version of an M. Night Shyamalan fairy tale.”[9] Similarly, James Berardinelli commented, “[i]f there’s a complaint to be made about Insidious, it’s that the film’s second half is unable to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the first half.”[10] Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe wrote that “[t]he film begins with promise” but “[t]he crazy train of ‘Insidious’ runs fully off the rails when the filmmakers go logical and some of the strange gets explained away as a double shot of demonic possession and astral projection.”[11]
<Lawrence> eh kamusta naman ang drawings di ba
<Lawrence> nun lang nila nagets?
<Lawrence> hahaha
<Lawrence> at, natatawa ako na kailangan ipakita ang drawing ng kabayo, para ikumpara sa kabayo sa The Further
<Lawrence> hehe
<Eliza> XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
<Eliza> alam ko na ipo-post ko na lang ang exchange na to sa blog ko
<Eliza> yan ang review
<Eliza> XD
Eliza Victoria 