Insidious: Chapter 2
Rent & Buy
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were largely cold on this sequel, finding it a step down from the original's lean, effective horror — though a minority felt it delivered genuine scares and worked as a real continuation rather than a retread. The central dispute was whether James Wan was crafting something atmospheric and character-driven or simply going through the motions of genre manipulation.
“the scares are mostly very scary indeed, and that means the film does its job”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious: Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldn't at all mind returning to again”
Scott Foundas·Variety
“After the pleasurable free fall into old-fashioned nightmare artistry that was last summer's The Conjuring, this busy-yet-dull sequel feels like Wan robotically flexing his manipulation of fright-film signposts, an exercise more silly than sinister”
Robert Abele·Los Angeles Times
“Setting aside the movie's tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predictable scares, the narrative's compulsively shifting chronology intermittently manages to engage, although it does little to obscure the distracting shortcomings of both plot and character development”
Justin Lowe·The Hollywood Reporter
Genres
Horror, Thriller
Cast & Crew
James WanDirector
Patrick WilsonJosh Lambert
Rose ByrneRenai Lambert
Lin ShayeElise Rainier
Ty SimpkinsDalton Lambert
Barbara HersheyLorraine Lambert
Steve CoulterCarl
Leigh WhannellSpecs
Angus SampsonTucker
Andrew AstorFoster Lambert
Hank HarrisCarl (adult)
Jocelin DonahueLorraine Lambert (adult)
Lindsay SeimElise Rainier (adult)
Joseph BisharaComposerLeigh WhannellWriter
John R. LeonettiCinematographyFrom the studio
Insidious: Chapter 2
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were largely cold on this sequel, finding it a step down from the original's lean, effective horror — though a minority felt it delivered genuine scares and worked as a real continuation rather than a retread. The central dispute was whether James Wan was crafting something atmospheric and character-driven or simply going through the motions of genre manipulation.
“the scares are mostly very scary indeed, and that means the film does its job”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious: Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldn't at all mind returning to again”
Scott Foundas·Variety
“After the pleasurable free fall into old-fashioned nightmare artistry that was last summer's The Conjuring, this busy-yet-dull sequel feels like Wan robotically flexing his manipulation of fright-film signposts, an exercise more silly than sinister”
Robert Abele·Los Angeles Times
“Setting aside the movie's tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predictable scares, the narrative's compulsively shifting chronology intermittently manages to engage, although it does little to obscure the distracting shortcomings of both plot and character development”
Justin Lowe·The Hollywood Reporter
Genres
Horror, Thriller
Cast & Crew
James WanDirectorPatrick WilsonJosh LambertRose ByrneRenai LambertLin ShayeElise RainierTy SimpkinsDalton LambertBarbara HersheyLorraine LambertSteve CoulterCarlLeigh WhannellSpecsAngus SampsonTuckerAndrew AstorFoster LambertHank HarrisCarl (adult)Jocelin DonahueLorraine Lambert (adult)Lindsay SeimElise Rainier (adult)Joseph BisharaComposerLeigh WhannellWriterJohn R. LeonettiCinematographyFrom the studio
Rent & Buy