I hate when I get like this, but I’m starting to get the shakes.  Not the good kind of shakes that you get when you’re about to bite into a delicious double cheeseburger after you’ve been hungry all day, but the kind of shakes you get when you feel you’re about to be let down by a new horror movie.  Oh those are the worst, aren’t they?  I was damn near convulsing before I saw the Nightmare On Elm Street remake and now I’m getting that same feeling for Insidious: Chapter 2.

*Wake up! You’re missing The Golden Girls marathon!*

Look….I dug Insidious and recently re-watched it.  Was I blown away the first time I saw it?  Not particularly, but I jumped a few times and thought it had an overall great “creep” factor.  Still think the daytime scene of the little boy dancing in the living room to “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” is as good as scary daytime scenes come in a horror movie.  When the sequel was announced, it was a predictable announcement, but I understood it.  And when I heard that it would immediately pick up after the first one, I was even more intrigued (I hate sequels that just start 5 years later or never even acknowledge the original).  Then I saw the first trailer and it just felt so…..I don’t know…..forced?

*I’ll take a box of Thin Mints and one box of Samoas please*

James Wan knows horror and he’s proven that, especially with this year’s triumph, The Conjuring.  I don’t doubt his abilities as a filmmaker at all, especially in the horror genre, but what I do doubt after viewings of TV spots and trailers is that Insidious: Chapter 2 needed to be made at all.  Like I said earlier, forced seems to be the best way to describe my feelings towards it and overall, it looks like a complete rehash from the original.  I’ve also read that there’s more comedy in this one, which is what I didn’t like about Insidious when the bumbling paranormal team shows up.  Skip the comedy and give me the horror!

*They’re called breath mints….*

Early buzz from screenings isn’t great, which is even more of a letdown.  I am however going to remain optimistic and hope that James Wan has enough tricks up his sleeve to put a grin on my face and walk out of the theater with a full tummy of horror goodness.  For the record, the Darth Maul looking red demon from Insidious didn’t bother me like it did most.  What did bother me was the guy in the leather trench coat with the long hair.  Ugh.  Hopefully the old pervy “He’s got your baby!” guy from the trailer replaces trench coat guy in Insidious: Chapter 2.  It’s the little things in life that matter most.