Insidious: Behind the Scenes (Video)

The horror genre is one of my favorites, yet it's also one that is very hard to get right. So when a film comes along that I find genuinely terrifying, I go pretty crazy singing it's praises. Such a film is Insidious, opening today. Don't be fooled by it's PG-13 Rating--this is white-knuckle chills from start to finish.

You can read the review of the film here and check out the video above with director James Wan and writer-actor Leigh Whannell, the men responsible for the original Saw (a.k.a. The Good One.) After Saw came out in 2004, I was looking forward to seeing what he did next, as both a writer and actor (he played the other guy in Saw that's not Cary Elwes.) But the pair stayed pretty quiet, aside from collaborating on the disappointing ventriloquist-dummy-thriller Dead Silence in 2007. (Something I've learned: dolls are freaky in horror films, unless they're the main focus. Then they're just kind of silly.)

But I'm glad to say the pair are back in top form with Insidious. If it seems like I'm not saying much about what the film is about, that's on purpose. If I had my way, the promotion wouldn't contain the tagline (spoiler ahead) "It's not the house that's haunted." But I know marketing has to sell a movie. But please, go in with no expectations about this film, and enjoy the ride.

Also, these may sound like cliches, but it's the truth: don't see it alone. I was supposed to meet a friend at my screening but he got held up on a shoot, so I went alone. Big mistake. I literally screamed four times and had no one to grab on to. Also, the film actually gave me nightmares, which almost NEVER happens. And that's possibly the biggest endorsement you can give a horror movie.