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Insidious: Chapter 3
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Lin Shaye, Tate Berney, Michael Reid Mackay, Steve Coulter, Hayley Kiyoko, Corbett Tuck, Tom Gallop, Ele Keats, Phyllis Applegate, Ashton Moio
Rating: B-
James Wan, the original creator of Insidious and the sequel Insidious 2, turned over the reigns for the third installment to writer Leigh Whannell. It seems Wan is busy with other projects and as I watched some of the issues with Insidious: Chapter 3 unfold, I did find myself wishing he had been involved in this latest scary flick, since the first two installments were fairly well done. Insidious: Chapter 3 is actually a prequel to the first two films and has nothing to do with the haunting of the Lambert family that we got to know from the previous two movies. This is a story that explains to us how lovable female ghostbuster Elise (Lin Shaye) got into the art of banishing nasty evil spirits away from poor innocent helpless victims. Filled with plenty of dark corners, shadowy hall ways, intimidating stairways, along with eerie music in the background, will the prequel have all the elements to give horror movie buffs the scares they crave for at the box office?
Adorable Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) is grieving the loss of her mother who died from cancer a little over a year ago. The teenager is convinced that her mother, Lillith (Ele Keats), is trying to reach out to her from the great beyond. After several failed attempts to contact her mother’s spirit, Quinn seeks out help from Elise, a famous medium. At first Elise is very reluctant to help the young girl. She explains that her gift often causes unwanted spirits (and not very nice ones) to come forward. But, Elise gives in to Quinn’s request when she sees the grief the girl is going through after losing her mother. As Elise tries to make a connection with Lillith, she senses something horrible coming through and immediately stops. The wise stately elder warns Quinn not to tamper with the unknown for her own sake and sends the adolescent on her way. Of course, things cannot be so simple and this is just the beginning of the nightmare to come.
One evening after a theater audition, Quinn is unexpectedly struck down by a car. Doctors manage to save the dying girl but not before she briefly crosses over to the other side and encounters an evil spirit that will haunt her until it gets what it wants – Quinn’s soul. With two broken legs resulting from the accident, Quinn is now home with her father Sean (Dermot Malroney) and her little brother Alex (Tate Berney). Sean, who is overwhelmed and stressed since the death of his wife, relies heavily on his daughter to help him run the household and raise Alex. The task of growing up fast and becoming the lady of the house often proves too much for Quinn and causes friction between father and daughter. Now the family is challenged with taking care of Quinn till she gets better. But, a normal recovery time is not what’s in store for them.
Quinn starts sensing an ominous presence in her room and figures out pretty fast that it is not the spirit her dearly departed mother. She desperately tries to convince her disbelieving father that something evil is following her since she went to see Elise. Finally, when things start to go really haywire, Sean enlists the help of Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), two internet geeks that claim to have all sorts of electronic gizmos to get rid of pesky ghosts. The dynamic duo doesn’t know what they are in for and when they miserably fail at getting rid of the demon chasing Quinn, it is Elise swooping in for the rescue.
Stefanie Scott does a reasonable job as the girl being terrorized by a demonic poltergeist. She brings sweet, cute, and innocent to the screen and is pleasant to watch. Spending most of her time in bed, Scott mainly only has screaming to do. Dermot Mulroney is not convincing enough as a father scared to death for his daughter’s safety. The weak performance from Mulroney prevents us from feeling any sympathy for a family going through such a traumatic event. A Father convincing us that he is desperately trying to save his daughter would have made the film so much more believable. Tate Berney’s character is only known for not getting ready for school and giving his father an internet referral for two ghostbusters. Since there was nothing really for Berney’s character to do, time could have been better spent elsewhere to build the storyline. The family members were intended to be the main characters but actually come off very weak and if left to carry the story this film could have fallen flat on its face. Thankfully, there are three other players to pull things together.
Lin Shaye is great as the astute aging clairvoyant. She is funny, vulnerable, stubborn, strong, and ultimately turns into a bad ass kicking the crap out of a powerful entity that underestimates her power. It is too bad that more time was not spent on her character’s story. She does not really get to shine until more than half way through the film and then manages to steal the show. Playing the roles of the two bumbling paranormal investigators, Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson add some humor to the foreboding film. In the third installment we get to see how Elise, Tucker, and Specs actually become a team. Exploring the dynamics and development of three supernatural detectives’ relationship could have really given this prequel a very nice flare.
Insidious: Chapter 3 is lacking in exploring relationships within a family that is tormented by something they don’t understand. More attention to this detail would draw more emotion from the audience and given the film a strong punch. Many of the production’s weaknesses are going to be overlooked because there are plenty of spine-chilling moments to give a good scare – I counted at least ten, and yes, I was one of the audience members jumping out of my seat even knowing something was lurking just out of the camera’s eye. The musical score makes quite an impact as things go bump in the night. There are plenty of nail-biting, chair-gripping scenes to keep moviegoers on the edge of their seats. Insidious: Chapter 3 will not go down as a horror movie classic but it is still campy and scary good fun that will give you the jitters and a strong desire to sleep with the lights on.
