​FILMS

insidious: Chapter 3

2015 review number 94:

Insidious: Chapter 3: (Horror/Thriller/Drama): 70 out of 100: The good news is that you don't have to see the previous two instalments to appreciate this. The bad news is you shouldn't see this if you suffer from a weak heart! This is the prequel that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) teams up with Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell), all three of whom were seen in Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2.

 

Quinn (Stefanie Scott) lives with her father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) and brother Alex (Tate Berney). Her mother has passed away and it's her intention to see her in the afterlife. She seeks the assistance of Elise to enable this to happen. Little does Quinn know but she has brought back a demon to the physical world and it has attached itself to her. It is up to Elise and her father to save her. They are joined by a dubious paranormal team (Tucker and Specs) that Quinn's brother has found on the Internet.

 

Every cliche in the horror genre is found here but it's how it's been executed that is most impressive. Yes, there are those characters who look under the bed and go to rooms that should be strictly out of bounds but the eerie atmosphere created allows for plenty of frights. There's the obligatory horror music accompanied by the jump scares which you shouldn't succumb to, but you somehow do. That's a credit to director Leigh Whannell who makes his feature film debut as a director, however he is attuned with the trilogy as he wrote all three chapters. He employs camera angles which best utilise the fear exhibited by the characters.

 

The acting especially by Lin Shaye promotes the desperation the characters face. The prequel informs us why Elise is so interested in the spiritual world so it's not an unnecessary prequel after all. The weakneses and strength of the family unit are also well-depicted by Mulroney. You can easily see the suffering he is going through as a father who is seemingly losing control of the situation. Scott is in most of the scenes and she brilliantly displays the trauma her character is experiencing. Comedy relief is provided by Sampson and Whannell, just as they did in the other two chapters.

 

Although there really isn't too much original in Insidious: Chapter 3, the plot is engaging enough for you to immerse yourself in the afterlife. This is better than the recent Poltergeist release even though the themes of the spiritual world are similar. I wasn't scared at all by that remake but it was a different case with this movie. If I have to half-close my eyes in a few scenes then I know I have been genuinely scared.

 

Starring Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott and Lin Shaye

(97 minutes)

Parental advice: Violence and coarse language

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HxEXnVSr1w (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Wednesday 1st July, 2015)

 

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