Director:
Leigh Whannell
Cast:
Dermot Mulroney
Stefanie Scott
Lin Shaye
Leigh Whannell
Angus Sampson
Rated: PG-13
The third installment of the “Insidious” franchise serves as a prequel rather than a sequel in the franchise’s timeline. The film follows a girl named Quinn (Scott) who is being haunted by an evil spirit.
As the haunting gets more severe Quinn and her family seek the help of Elise (Shaye), a spirit and demon expert who may be able to assist. The only problem is Elise is dealing with problems of her own.
Chapter 3 of “Insidious” can be divided into two sections, 75 percent dealing with the family being haunted and 25 percent with the paranormal expert Elise. The problem that the movie faces is the 25 percent was much more interesting than the moments with the family.
Every time the movie focused on Elise, things seemed to get much more engaging. It was more than just a story of a haunting, it was a person coming to terms with who they are.
There is a great moment, for example, where Elise meets with another person working in her field who talks about how when people are attacked by people in the street they go to the police, but when it’s something they can’t see, paranormal experts like themselves are the only resource.
The other side of the film dealing with Quinn and the rest of the family being haunted simply felt by the numbers and honestly became boring after a while.
It’s not to say the acting from those characters was bad. Scott was strong as Quinn and Dermot Mulroney appeared convincing as the stressed father who isn’t sure how to help his daughter. It’s just that most of what happens felt generic.
Shaye, who has played the same character in the other “Insidious” films, was good in the movie, unsurprisingly, as she has already played the character.
As for the fear factor, “Insidious Chapter 3” had more misses than hits. Most of the time the movie relied on jump scares to get an audience reaction. That being said, though, there were some creepy moments with legitimately scary imagery.
“Insidious Chapter 3” was too generic in places and isn’t the scariest movie out there. Worst of all, it’s really dull. The performances are OK and the story centered on Elise is solid, which do help the picture somewhat. 2 out of 5.
