In observance of that autumn spell when we celebrate the primal, compulsive instinct of fear, Rainestorm once more highlights 31 days of spooky scares to season the eerie atmosphere of Halloween.

For those who tuned in last year, I subjected you to a daily dose of diabolical dread and devilish distress. Just as every good horror movie deserves an inferior sequel, I offer this follow-up of also-rans, not bads, and perhaps a couple of you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-mes.

Unleashed: 2011

What evil lurks: By no means a spectacular horror movie but it is a nice little ghost story. Director James Wan, rather than relying on cheap gore and torture, as in the Saw movies that he launched, opts here for old fashioned mystery and suspense. It’s become the refreshing exception that such slow-building tension can drive a horror story forward in the age of ever-increasing gore and creative suffering. Like The Orphanage before it, Insidious takes many of its cues from older films like The Haunting and, in particular, Poltergeist. Re-characterizing the ghostbusting team from the latter film into semi-comic relief gives the film a slight sense of levity without completely driving it into satire.

Highlight from hell: What’s that behind you, Josh?

Terrifying trivia: The Jigsaw puppet from Wan’s Saw makes an appearance here as some classroom blackboard graffiti.

Diabolical dialogue: “It’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s your son.”

Son of: Poltergeist (1982). This classic movie is far less frightening than its reputation purports… as in, not at all. Still, it has some memorably nifty moments, including a logistically impressive feat involving rearranged dining room chairs (gasp!).

Shoddy sequel syndrome: The genuinely creepy terror that builds in the first two acts derails into a trip through a cheesy neighborhood haunted house in the third.