An increasing amount of metaphysical backtracking dilutes the few simple jolts that do work this time around.
– William Goss,
Film.com,
13 Sep 2013
rotten:
Insidious: Chapter 2 is not only unnecessary but it commits the cardinal sin of devaluing its predecessor.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
13 Sep 2013
rotten:
Though there's some admirably clever plotting to interweave the film's second half with events in the original, it's simply not as scary.
– Ian Buckwalter,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep 2013
rotten:
Characters in Whannell/Wan screenplays speak with the first-draft expository bluntness of a cheap '50s thriller, letting the characters step on some of the best reveals.
– Jesse Hassenger,
AV Club,
17 Sep 2013
fresh:
Most of [Wan's] peers shoot a bunch of scenes and let the editor make a smoothie. Wan no longer relies on visual gibberish. He has become a classicist in that sense.