Insidious: Chapter 2 picks up the story there.

Where do you go with a tale that ended so over the top, in a fog-shrouded netherworld called “The Further”? Apparently, even further.

Although Insidious had built up a nice head of suspense for much of the film, its final act was absurdly out of proportion to the delicious sense of dread that had been created by director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, who, since collaborating on the 2004 Saw, have made a name for themselves as horror auteurs. Here, they try to outdo what they did in Insidious, piling on plot twists borrowed from a host of other movies that, while in some cases are genuinely creepy, turn Chapter 2 into a bustling, overly busy mess.

Remember Poltergeist? It’s essentially the model for both Insidious films, which presuppose a parallel universe beyond the physical one, inhabited by malevolent entities who can drift in and out of our world, and into whose world we — or at least some of us — can also enter, willingly or not. That 1982 film posited an alternate “sphere of consciousness” that could be entered, quite literally, by spiritual spelunkers tethered to a rope. Similarly, Insidious: Chapter 2 features a visit to the Further by someone tied to — I kid you not — a piece of string.

Talk about String Theory. Just contemplating the physics of this will make your head explode.

“I suppose I should have explained something,” says one of the spirit mediums (Steve Coulter), who is called in to assist the Lamberts when they discover that their nightmares are far from over. “This isn’t an exact science.”

No kidding.

Those who missed the first film will get a recap in Chapter 2, which centres on the father, Josh Lambert, who now appears to be haunted instead of Dalton. “Is something wrong with Daddy?” the boy asks, after Josh starts talking to himself and pulling rotten teeth out of his mouth.

Yes, kid, but it’s the movie you should be worried about, not your old man.

In addition to Poltergeist, Insidious: Chapter 2 cribs from The Shining, The Exorcist, Psycho and other films. If it has to steal, at least it’s from some of the best. The problem is, it’s also reminiscent, in parts, of Mommie Dearest and, as a friend of mine pointed out, A Reflection of Fear. (Yeah, I had to look up that 1973 B movie, too. Don’t Google its plot twist if you don’t want a major spoiler.) Certain scenes in Insidious: Chapter 2 look like outtakes from a zombie movie, with ghouls staggering around in the dark, arms outstretched.

And you thought this was a simple ghost story?

Stick to Wan’s The Conjuring (also starring Wilson) for that. Unfortunately, that exquisitely restrained fright-fest, which is still in theatres, is starting to look more and more like a fluke for the filmmaker, who seems to be running out of ideas, even as he amps up the demand for them. Get ready for even less of them in Insidious: Chapter 3 a sequel whose inevitability is ensured by the teaser ending of Chapter 2.

But there’s only one number that matters here. Considering how creatively bankrupt and stylistically profligate this second instalment of the franchise is, the new movie should really be called Insidious: Chapter11.