Insidious

Even though this ghost story has some goofy moments and dry patches, when it’s scary, it’s really scary. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne star as a married couple whose young son winds up in some sort of strange coma. As it turns out, his astral body is off in some distant dimension called The Further, and evil demons and ghosts want to use him as some sort of vessel. It doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that director James Wan has come up with some visually terrifying moments that had me wanting to be anywhere but in the theater. Wilson and Byrne combine to make the film dramatically sound beyond the scares. Their characters are slightly annoying as they insist on staying put in a house that’s clearly screwed up. But, as the film wears on, they become worth rooting for as they take measures to save their child and keep malevolent spirits out of their dining room.