Insidious Chapter Two (2013)

Directed by James Wan. Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Steve Coulter, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Ty Simpkins, Lindsay Seim, Andrew Astor, Michael Beach, Danielle Bisutti. [PG-13]

Picking up immediately after the first Insidious left off (with the brief recap, it actually starts just before that one left off), the investigation is underway to determine who murdered paranormal psychic Elise Rainier (hint: it wasn’t Colonel Mustard). Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal more about the malicious “Bride in Black” entity “attached” to Papa Lambert, and it starts becoming clear that he’s now fully possessed in present day. Obligatory sequel is gratefully more of a continuation than a rehash of its predecessor, but it’s self-conscious, short on scares, and the muddled timeline jumps shatter the basic ghost-story pleasure of mounting dread. It also climaxes with another tedious trip into “the Further” to confront both personal and literal demons—yawn. Director Wan maximizes gorgeous gloom in several sequences, but he fails at sustaining tension. Chronologically, the “last” film in the franchise to date as the next two entries would be prequels.

43/100