OK: Istitutional Context - Insidious (Wan, 2010)

Production

- Insidious used suggestion and old-fashioned discretion to unnerve viewers
- The film uses shadows. slow-burn chills and off-screen space in effect
- The same set is used in the Devils dimension to the set of the home but has just been given a creepy makeover,
- The musical score to Insidious was composed by Joseph Bishara, who also appears in the film as the demon
- Most of the music was improvised and structured in the editing process
- Insidious had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010. Less than 12 hours after its screening, the film was picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for theatrical distribution
- The most challenging aspect of the production was probably trying to get the film to look like a classic horror film on such a low budget
- Wan edited the film in a gritty MTV-style way, in order to hide its small budget
- After their first low-budget horror film, Wan formed a company to produce the kind of horror movies audiences were interested in. They wanted to collaborate with the best horror filmmakers out there and help them make the kind of movies they want outside the Hollywood system; a low budget but also full creative control
- The directors focused on good acting and a good script. The most effective beats, didn't really cost too much money
- Insidious is more about creating an eerie, atmospheric mood
- The opening credits feature spooky little Easter eggs for the audience

Distribution

-  The company's model is to produce movies independently and release them wide through the studio system
- Insidious had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010. Less than 12 hours after its screening, the film was picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for theatrical distribution
- Insidious was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 12, 2011 through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- On the day prior to the film's home media release, Sony Pictures and Fangoria hosted a free screening of the film at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles followed by an interactive Q&A with director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell
- Insidious had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010
- Less than 12 hours after its screening, the film was picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for theatrical distribution
- On December 29, 2010, it was announced that the film would be released theatrically on April 1, 2011 by the then-relatively new film company FilmDistrict 
- The film was also screened at South by Southwest in mid-March 2011