Insidious - Chapter 3

A scare is much like a joke, tell it too many times and it will lose its charm. The third chapter of Insidious aim to repeat the success of the original with new characters and old proved methods of distributing chill. It has different atmosphere than previous rural haunting plus screeching hymn, which is a nice change of pace. At times it might revert back to repetitive gimmicks, but ultimately the capable cast led by Lin Shaye as they witness the perilous yet private story of a haunted girl manage to fright and fascinate.

Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) is saddened by the loss of her mother. Out of desperation she seeks Elise (Lin Shaye) to make unworldly contact. Elise is reluctant to help the troubled girl as she is distraught by her own problems. Though unwilling she still senses that an entity follows Quinn, but it is the farthest thing from her mother. While this premise is similar to The Conjuring, or others of the genre, it still works simply because the characters in predicament are likable.

Lin Shaye is very good on drawing sympathy, she looks fragile yet her on-screen compassionate nature is infectious. She also has a way to convey dread as a sort of more neighborly psychic instead of outright doomsayer. The new cast of Brenner family is also presentable. Stefanie Scott as Quinn is believable as an ordinary teen girl, with her typical girl issues and aspirations. The way she might seem plain, not a scream queen, is actually a boon to the movie as she's so much more relatable.

Dermot Mulroney as Sean, Quinn's father is a great choice. He appears convincing as a father, especially as a single parent who must deal with raising two kids and now the addition of invasive entity. The chemistry between the two as father-daughter is solid, while other supporting characters build up the suspense or deliver a glint of humor between the dark days.

It all comes down to the how horrifying this third chapter is. The set-up for horror is exceptionally done for the majority of the film, at several scenes it has some clever ways or perspectives to raise the thrill. However, it's still plagued by the same flaws of the franchise, such as resorting to screaming jump scares or it might lose steam as it goes further like the original. These rehearsed stuffs are admittedly have worn out their welcome, whether they persistently linger of not.

What really nails the horror is the victim, Quinn, as she is gradually gnawed by this malicious existence. In an analogy of a young woman abused, both physically and emotionally, she is shown of losing herself bits by bits. It has a bit of oriental touch as some scenes reminded me of Japanese thriller, and they work very well in tandem with confident acting of the cast. It's much easier to invest to their ordeal as it looks so personal.

Before the story Lambert family, there is a tale of breathlessly unfortunate lady. Familiar her story may be though the private display of her trial is suitably eerie.

Teenager Quinn Brenner has tried to contact her late mother on her own and then she goes to see medium Elise Rainier. Elise tells her she is retired but is persuaded to help; instead of contacting Quinn's mother she senses a malevolent presence. She advises Quinn to not attempt to contact her mother again. Shortly afterwards Quinn is involved in a serious accident which requires her to have both legs set in plaster while she recovers. When she return homes see starts seeing a shadowy man wearing an oxygen mask. After a number of increasingly frightening events her father goes to Elise to get help. Things don't go too well so Quinn's brother suggests contacting Specs and Tucker, a pair of internet ghostbusters.

This film is set some time before the events of the previous films and doesn't really require any knowledge of those films. That said there are a few elements that are more fun if you have some knowledge of the characters. It adds good backstory and shows how Elise came to work with unlikely associates Specs and Tucker. The story provides plenty of scares; some are just the usual jump scares but there is also an impressively pervasive creepiness much of the time. As with the previous films it manages to eschew gore and any real nastiness. The cast is solid enough; most notably Lin Shaye who makes a welcome return as Elise. Overall I wouldn't say this was a must see but if you are a fan of the genre it is more than good enough.

The "Insidious" franchise has gone through some lengths to rejuvenate old-fashioned spook. The first movie was a surprise hit, giving the audience back their interests in horror movies to come. The second one worked sporadically with critics but still kept audiences wanting for more. And now, here comes another sequel (I meant prequel). Will it pay off? Maybe.

Quinn Renner (Scott) is a young woman seeking a clairvoyant to contact her deceased mother. She calls up to Elise Rainer (Shaye), who informs her that she may have been contacted with an evil spirit who will take her soul. Slowly, Quinn starts to have scary occurrences. And it's up to Elise if she can help her or not.

From the first scene, I can sense something different this movie will be heading. Even though there's jump scares aplenty, most of them doesn't pack a punch like its' previous movies. But, Whannell has a way to orchestrate frightening and rich atmosphere, that almost cover all the flaws.

Back to that something different, it is the emotional undercurrent that stood out, talking about grief and coping from it, while limited. It is something the first two didn't really tell.

The actors and actresses has done a great job. But, the real thing is Lin Shaye. She is a revelation. Her range as an actress can be seen solely from this movie. She makes you root for her, care for her, even laugh with her. When the movie starts to fumble, she holds it from falling apart, avoiding clichés and conventionality. A plus one for that than just being a good film.

If you're looking for the same intensity from the first two, you'll most likely will be disappointed. But, if you're looking for not just the scares, you'll get something more than most horror movies.

7/10... bumped up to 8/10 for Lin Shaye.

In lots of ways Insidious is one of the most unlikely franchise's existing today and unlike many of its other horror franchise counterparts it really is the film series that could, for over three films now Insidious has managed to be both profitable and also most importantly highly watchable and more than a little bit creepy.

The first two Insidious tales saw Saw co-creators and Australia's unsung Hollywood hero's James Wan and Leigh Whannell deliver some otherworldly chills without resorting to OTT violence or gore splatter that has sadly been a staple of modern day horror films that think the more blood spilled the more effective the film will be and with this third entry to the franchise Leigh Whannell takes over directing duties from his now box office superstar buddy Wan which sees him do a more than admirable job.

A long time player in the modern horror scene, Whannell surely knows a thing or two about what freaks us movie goers out and where the first Insidious scared us with its white faced man and then the second got us with its red faced demon, here in the third chapter which is in fact a prequel of sorts to the events of what has transpired before, Whannell creates a figure almost as scary as Jigsaw himself with the "Man that can't breathe". A horrible and off putting creation this figure is a large part of the reason why this entry into the series keeps the chills coming and while Whannell relies on the jump scare and silent soundtrack situation quite a lot to make Insidious scary, there's little denying there's more ingenuity here than most other low budgeted horror flicks.

There's also a surprising amount of heart thrown into the mix here and while it may come off as cheesy and sap-filled, it's nice for a film of this ilk to throw some emotional resonance into an otherwise highly unrealistic scenario of possessed teens and ghost worlds.

While the dialogue can sometimes fall flat and Whannell and Angus Sampson's comical ghost hunters that played large parts in the first films still feel a little out of place, Insidious 3 is a highly watchable and often highly effective piece of horror filmmaking that never tries to outstretch its reach.

After three solid films it feels as though the makers of Insidious know exactly what their films are and what they aren't and we as an audience can be thankful for that and now can look forward to what Whannell and his team have in store for us when chapter 4 hopefully eventuates.

3 footprints out of 5

Not a terrible movie by any stretch of the imagination, but sadly nowhere near the standard of the first two Insidious movies. I found the characters pretty flat and uninteresting and the story less imaginative than the previous installments.

That said, as a stand alone it's not a bad horror film, especially considering it was a first attempt at directing by the guy who usually does the screenplay. I will admit to jumping out of my seat on more than one occasion whilst watching. It certainly doesn't lack in scares, what it does lack is depth, there isn't enough going on between the "jumps". By all means, go and see this film, just don't expect it to match the brilliance of the first two.