The film stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
In 1986, Lorraine Lambert summons demonologist Elise Rainier to help her son Josh, who is being haunted by the spirit of an old woman in a black bridal gown.
Josh, Renai, and their children – Dalton, Foster, and Kali – temporarily relocate to Lorraine's house, where they begin to encounter eerie paranormal events again.
Dalton tells his mother that he has been having nightmares about a woman in a white dress, as well as hearing Josh talk to an unseen figure.
Lorraine recounts the story twenty-five years ago when a patient named Parker Crane, who was admitted for trying to castrate himself, had assaulted a then-young Josh.
Carl touches the gown and discovers Parker had been a serial killer known as "The Bride in Black", who abducted and murdered 15 women while dressed as a woman.
No one but Allison's younger sister can see Elise's spirit, who is first seen standing behind Specs and Tucker, due to the potential ability of astral projection.
With producer Jason Blum insisting on the return of director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, a treatment script did not arrive until nearly a year later.
"[11] On November 19, 2012, it was officially announced that Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins would reprise their roles from the first film.
[13] In February 2013, Jocelin Donahue and Lindsay Seim rounded out the cast as younger versions of Hershey and Shaye's characters, respectively.
[14][15] It was also confirmed that the film's screenwriter Leigh Whannell and actor Angus Sampson would reprise their roles as Specs and Tucker, respectively.
"[20] The musical score to Insidious: Chapter 2 is composed by Joseph Bishara,[21] who previously collaborated with director James Wan on the first installment as well as The Conjuring.
[25] The first theatrical trailer for the film was screened to a live audience on location at the Linda Vista Community Hospital on June 4, 2013, with an online release the following day.
[3] On the night prior to its theatrical wide release, the film was shown in select theatres as part of a double feature with the first installment.
The site's critics consensus reads: "Insidious: Chapter 2 is decidedly short on the tension and surprises that made its predecessor so chilling.
"[37] Scott Foundas of Variety praised the "artfully eerie" cinematography work of John R. Leonetti and the "pervasively unsettling atmosphere" constructed by sound designer and editor Joe Dzuban.
Foundas further wrote that "where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious: Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldn't at all mind returning to again.
"[38] Conversely, Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times commented, "After the pleasurable free fall into old-fashioned nightmare artistry that was last summer's The Conjuring, this busy-yet-dull sequel feels like Wan robotically flexing his manipulation of fright-film signposts, an exercise more silly than sinister.
"[39] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Setting aside the movie's tediously lame dialogue, self-conscious performances and frequently predictable scares, the narrative's compulsively shifting chronology intermittently manages to engage, although it does little to obscure the distracting shortcomings of both plot and character development.
[41] On September 16, 2013, a third film in the series was announced, with Leigh Whannell signed on to return as writer while Jason Blum and Oren Peli were also set to produce.
Whannell returned to write, with Blum, Peli, and Wan producing, as well as Shaye reprising her role as Elise Rainier and Adam Robitel directing.
Patrick Wilson was announced as director, in addition to reprising his starring role, while Scott Teems serves as screenwriter, based on an original story by Whannell.