INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 (2015) - Movie Review

Director: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Dermont Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Steve Coulter, Michael Reid MacKay
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Runtime: 97 min
Rated: PG-13 for violence, frightening images, some language and thematic elements
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

When teenager Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) senses that her late mother is trying to contact her, she seeks help from gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye). However, Elise's tragic past makes her reluctant to use her abilities. After Quinn is attacked by a malevolent entity, her father (Dermot Mulroney) pleads with Elise for help. With support from two parapsychologists, Elise ventures deep into The Further -- where she finds a powerful demon with an insatiable craving for human souls.

Review:

Since the previous film pretty much wrapped up the Lambert family story (for now), "Insidious: Chapter 3" goes back three years before the events of the first two films, and focuses on a new family and a new haunting. Here's a quick sum-up of the story: when teenage girl Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) comes under attack from a malevolent entity, her father (Dermot Mulroney) reaches out to psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) for help. Elise is reluctant at first, but eventually finds the inner strength she needs to face off against pure evil and a dark future.

James Wan couldn't return to direct the third installment because he was busy working on "Furious 7", so his writing partner Leigh Whannell took over directorial duties. The film is a prequel that shows us how Elise and paranormal investigators Specs (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) first teamed up to solve a supernatural case together. It's not a terrible idea, despite my lack of affection for Specs and Tucker, and I have to say I had a lot more fun with Chapter 3 than Chapter 2. Of course we still get nods to the previous films and they add more connections to events that lie in Elise's future, which are completely unnecessary, but don't ruin the movie overall.

Whannell proves himself equally adept at handling both the narrative and technical challenges, and the result is a lean, tightly paced horror sequel that oozes with atmospheric dread. The haunting itself is nothing special, pretty standard fare, but the scares are still plenty efficient. It also helps that the movie focuses on setting up a simple villain with a a very simple backstory, which is a nice change of pace from the overly convoluted second chapter. Elise has always been a strong character, which is why they shift to her becoming the lead in the series, and it pays off because Shaye's performance is the best thing about these movies.

"Insidious: Chapter 3" brings back the elegant simplicity of the first film and while it doesn't add anything new to both the franchise or the horror genre, it's still a wildly entertaining frightfest.

SCORE: 7/10