Insidious: Chapter 2

The original cast and crew return for another spook-house tour, rife with creaking doors, tinkling pianos, ghostly visitations and jumpy edits. Luckily, director James Wan is accomplished enough to assemble the mothballed creepiness and largely generic elements into something that jangles the nerves without causing too much fearful distress. Picking up exactly where the first film ended, we find Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) returned from "The Further" possessed by the spirit of a serial-killer drag queen dubbed the "Bride in Black". Deceased medium Elise (Lin Shaye) navigates through Josh's childhood paranormal experiences and taps into his son's spiritual abilities. looking for the Oedipal key that will stop the maniac decimating the entire Lambert family. The movie eventually descends into histrionic camp with a Psycho mother and some shrieking black comedy, but there's no denying Wan's gift for potent poltergeist action and spectral sleight-of-hand. The final coda leaves no doubt about a third chapter.