A word of warning to anyone wanting to check out Insidious– DO NOT watch this movie on a device that has deep bass or is just loud in general. My friends and I foolishly thought it would be fun to watch Insidious with the surround sound turned up high. Many of us reached the ceiling when the demon appeared suddenly behind Patrick Stewart’s character.

The plot of the movie is simple enough, starting with the Lambert family, consisting of Josh, Renai and their 3 kids, moving into their new house. The oldest son, Dalton, discovers the attic and subsequently falls down a ladder, putting him in a coma. Supernatural events begin to occur in the house. Renai is sure that the house is haunted and convinces her husband that the family should move again. After the move however, the disturbances persevere and the Lamberts soon figure out that their son has been possessed by a demon.

Insidious, rather than gaining it’s scares from sudden loud noises, shapes atmosphere and anticipation that builds up to one or two jump-scares that feel authentically scary instead of cheap. The story is solid and feels as if all of it could really happen to you, which adds to the chilling tone present throughout the film.

Insidious is a frightening and unnerving movie that I would not recommend to the faint of heart. Rather, I think those who want a genuinely scary horror film with an engrossing plot would find that this flick hits in all the right places.