Fans of Insidious will be overly satisfied with its second chapter, directed by James Wan, and the horrifying plot twist that accompanies it.

After a brief introduction, the movie begins right where Insidious ended, refreshing the audience on the dramatic death that occurred, giving background to the plot and getting viewers excited for the rest of the film.

In Insidious, the first movie, the audience learned that when Josh was a child, he had the ability to “astral project” which means that when he slept, he was able to travel into a spiritual world called The Further where the tormented souls of the dead lie. His mother, Lorraine, played by Barbara Hershey, contacted Elise Reiner, played by Lin Shaye, a paranormal activity investigator, fearing that an evil spirit was tormenting him. The souls in this world were so desperate for another chance at life that they tried to possess his body. Reiner’s skill in remaining calm and collected assured viewers that she would be part of the solution. Josh’s wife, Renai, played by Rose Byrne, and Josh’s child, Dalton, played by Ty Simpkins, had the same ability and one day went into a coma because he was trapped in The Further. Simpkins’ ability to show honest fear and panic enforced a feeling of sympathy in the audience for the innocent child.

Insidious: Chapter 2 opens with the same eerie music as Insidious, familiarizing viewers with the moods and themes accompanied by both films.

The first thing viewers see is a video clip of Josh Lambert, played by Patrick Wilson, as a child playing a game of “hot or cold” with Elise. Elise is walking around Josh’s house, looking for the spirit that has been haunting him, and Josh tells her if she is getting “hotter” or “colder.” This scene gives the audience more information about what the family had been through for decades and sets the stage for a spine-chilling tale.

The movie then transitions to present time and the investigation of Elise’s death. Josh is the main suspect of the crime and Renai has been through countless interrogations with the police. Her relationship with Josh becomes strained because she really does not know what happened with Elise, but she wants to believe that he did nothing wrong. The couple and their children Dalton, Foster and the baby move into Lorraine’s home and hope to move on with their lives. Unfortunately, the worst had yet to come.

Wilson’s ability to switch character traits back and forth throughout the movie really contributes to its overall success. He goes from being the loving father and husband to the creepy and sinister stranger. The personality changes keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the course of the film.

As the movie goes on, Josh begins to get sick. Also, when Renai points out that the music they hear playing from the piano is the song that she wrote for him, Josh is clueless. This is when Renai begins to become even more suspicious of Josh and stops forcing herself to give him the benefit of the doubt. Byrne’s acting shows the fear that she is feeling because of how she goes out of her way to be sweet to Josh and make sure he does not suspect that she is afraid of him. However, when she is with Lorraine, she seems terrified. She is able to put on a happy face for her husband. Byrne’s fear instills fear in the audience. In fact the audience’s feelings and emotions run parallel with Renai’s throughout the film, causing the overall effect of feeling apart of the plot.

The family begins to get an inkling of the shocking truth of the situation. The terrifying plot twist is what makes this movie attention grabbing. It is completely unexpected and follows the first movie seamlessly.The twists and turns of the story line keep the audience interested while still being easy to follow.

Another contribution to the film’s triumph was the improvement of special effects. In the first movie the special effects were not very good and took away from the thrill of the characters. For example, the evil demon that had trapped Dalton looked like it had been drawn into the film, but the spirits and unearthly beings in Insidious: Chapter 2 look astonishingly real, a huge improvement from the previous film.

Insidious: Chapter 2 also differs from Insidious because it focuses more on making the audience startle. There are many sudden movements, noises and character entrances that stop one’s heart. In “Insidious,” it was mostly the drama and horror of the plot that made the movie so scary.

The film seems a bit more realistic than its predecessor as far as nonhuman beings. Instead of animated monsters or ghosts, the audience sees evil in humans as well as spirits versus complete make-believe figures. It sends its viewers home jumping at the slightest noise due to its ability to scare.

Insidious: Chapter 2 is definitely worth the trip to the theater instead of waiting for its release on DVD. If one has not seen Insidious, one should rent it before heading to the theaters as it is extremely relevant to the next movie’s plot. Both movies will have viewers glued to their seats and gasping in horror.