By the late 2000s, Hollywood began to crack a pulpy, more visceral language for how dread accumulates, and James Wan was at the forefront of this particular supernatural-horror sensibility. Dread seeps into a quiet family life — whispers on baby monitors, a bloody handprint on a bedspread, a glitch-like split-second appearance, and eventually, a demon licking your face. When Insidious came out, most horror lovers lost it at the possibility that the supernatural might not respect the usual boundaries of a haunted-house story just because you move out. It can latch onto your soul and fester.
