When Saw first came out to phenomenal box office returns,
people soon became familiar with director James Wan’s supposed ‘torture porn’
style. After taking a producing role for the rest of the series, and his
subsequent releases Dead Silence and Death Sentence barely received any
critical attention (let alone positive
attention), it seemed like he was going to stuck with that label for the rest
of his professional career, if it would even survive beyond all that. Then came
Insidious in 2009, and audiences took note. Rather than the industrial grime
and twisted morals that have been attached to him thanks to the original Saw,
Insidious blasted its way into cinemas and showed off Wan’s true style:
Old-school horror thrills reminiscent of the haunted house flicks of the 70’s
and 80’s. After that film set a far better preconception for the man, he would
go on to even greater success with The Conjuring and even show his proficiency in genres outside of horror.
However, same year that Conjuring was released, he went back to that staple
that gave him the credit he desperately deserved… and critics weren’t all that
into it. Time to dive in and see if it really deserves the flack it got.
