Insidious is a horror film that came out in 2010, directed by James Wan. This was one of the movies that solidified James Wan as a superstar director in the world of horror movies. The film did so well with audiences that it spawned 5 other movies of the same title, following the same general plot line. The story in this one centres around a family that has a terrible incident where their young son falls in the attic, smacking his head really hard and sending him into a strong “coma”. In this coma, the child is tricked by a demon that wants to inhabit his body. So the parents seek the help of a clairvoyant to try and get their son back.

The movie is so filled with suspense it is barely watchable, and this movie was James Wan’s express chance to show that gore and guts were not needed to produce quality scares in a film. This is also around the time when the SAW franchise was the primary source of horror each year. Expertly crafted, Wan brings the horror with simple camera tricks like panning from side to side and on the 3rd pan, someone is standing out of place or there’s someone in the background that you didn’t see before.

Of course jump scares are natural for any movie, but this film was intended to be able to scare you off with just the sound design and aesthetic alone. A truly masterful classic in itself, I give Insidious an 8/10.