@Auspice
My short review of Insidious:
The first half of the movie is what you come for. The script is solid, the performances good, and the material interesting. Watching a family struggle with the haunting of a child is harrowing, and Byrne and Wilson play fine in the roles of the concerned, scared parents.
But, as usual, Hollywood tries to tie up what never needs to be tied. Dread is a funny feeling, one that Hollywood seems doomed to never understand. Effective horror movies make you wonder; they don't come to a conclusion. And that's why the second half fails utterly.
About the only frightening thing in the second half is realizing that the villain is really Darth Maul with goat legs, which reminds you have how terrifying Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was. It's like remembering how badly your childhood memories were hobbled and raped by Lucas' horrid inability to create dialogue, names, dialects, and interesting situations. And then, like in this movie, you wake up, shivering, wondering what the fuck happened and why you're missing enough money to get you a passable meal at the local Texas Roadhouse.
I can write these all night.