The Horror Show
Insidious Chapter 3
by Leigh Whannel
Writer of Insidious and Insidious Chapter 2, Leigh Whannel, sits in the director’s seat for the third chapter of the Insidious franchise. If you’re familiar with the previous installments of the series, you’ll know good and well who the Lambert family is. Unfortunately we don’t get to witness the poor family get terrorized by demons this time around, but we do find some familiar faces with the return of gifted psychic Elise (Lin Shaye) and the ghost hunting team of Specs (Leigh Whannel) and Tucker (Angus Sampson).
The story is set a few years before the events of the first film, giving us a glimpse primarily of how Elise got her start in “The Further” fighting the demons attempting to steal the souls of the living. We’re introduced to Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) a teenager missing her recently deceased mother. Quinn believes her mother has been trying to contact her and seeks out Elise’s help. What Elise discovers though, is something far more dangerous than she expected. Elise leaves Quinn with a warning about the other side… “when you call out to one, you call out to them all”.
Bizarre things begin occurring and after a horrible accident, Quinn is subjected to violent attacks, the demon even hungrier for her soul than before. Her father, Sean (Dermot Mulroney), is at a loss, and once a non-believer, sees no other choice but to find Elise and beg for her help in saving Quinn.
For a PG-13 horror film, Insidious Chapter 3 does what the other two movies before it did: kills it. For one, I absolutely love this franchise and while I love me some Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, it was refreshing to bring new characters to the table. It was also great to delve into Elise’s origin story as she is an important piece of the Insidious puzzle. What was also great about Chapter 3 is that even if you haven’t seen the previous films, it’s an impressive standalone movie that is sure to get you to watch the others.
At the heart of this film is a deep sadness and I found myself saying “horror movies aren’t supposed to make you sad!” The end of the film — phew — talk about deep! Part of why I think Insidious 3 is so great is that the Brenner family’s depth is greater than that of the Lamberts. I’m definitely not bad-mouthing here, just stating the facts. You have a grief-stricken girl who just wants to talk to her mom and instead, winds up with a demon desperately trying to steal her soul. Pair that with a father, overwhelmed with caring for two children, while also still reeling from the loss of his wife, who is now forced to deal with the supernatural world… it’s great! And Elise’s story is a real gem. I was impressed with Insidious 3 and even more impressed with Leigh Whannel in the director’s chair.
Aside from story, the intense atmosphere and scare tactics were fantastic. The mixture of elements from Japanese horror and Classical Horror make for some eerie moments and very few jump scares were used, which is awesome. I hate when a movie relies on loud music or sounds and/or a quick camera cut to scare the audience. There is one unexpected jump scare that I do approve of though, and it made me laugh afterward.
All in all, I think that Insidious Chapter 3 has really lived up to my expectations, maybe even exceeding them. You never know what you’re going to get with the third movie in a franchise. There was no cheesiness or recycled garbage here. This is one for your collection for sure..
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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