Peter Ewing

Not truly dreadful, Insidious is nonetheless a pretty silly film, with more laughs than screams. There is some ropy acting, cheesy lines and more than the usual helping of nonsense in the plot. In one scene, which looks like it has been furnished with props from a junk shop (including a battery powered lantern, an oxygen mask and a lot of old flash bulbs), the principals are told to question nothing. Probably just as well as it would be hard to suspend scepticism of the set-up. All in all, watch a couple of old Scooby Doos. They're generally funnier and often more scary.