Insidious: Chapter 3 [2015] is the latest entry in the popular horror franchise. Directed this time around by Leigh Whannell, the film is set three years before the events of the film two Insidious films and follows Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye returning) as a gifted psychic that can talk to the dead. Elise reluctantly comes out of retirement after discovering that a young girl is being targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity that might also be linked to Elise’s past.
Jump scares galore. One of the biggest tropes in horror films today is the over-reliance on “jump scares”, and unfortunately unlike the first two Insidious films which were very classic when it came right down to how it scared you - dread and suspense, this film thinks that suddenly turning up the volume on the ambient noises and flashing creepy images right in front of the camera is terrifying. It’s startling, yes. It’s our body’s natural response to our senses being throttled. It’s unnerving when in the theater seat, but it’s not a lasting scare that stays with us after the movie ends.
The cinematography is gorgeous. The biggest highlight of this film is the way it looks. The framing, the way the shots are set up and the (mostly) practical effects inside them look beautiful.
Taking the story into The Further. Honestly, the thing that stops these sequels from reaching the heights of the first film is the storyline and where they ended up taking it. The writers took the least interesting part of the first film- The Further, Elise’s character, and decided that should be the forefront of the next few installments. The thing that made those things so interesting in the first film was the fact that we as an audience didn’t fully understand them. As these films progress and more mythology is built up around them, it’s pretty clear that the writer’s don’t fully understand this world either and they’re just making it up as they go along. This is extremely evident in the last act of the film that doesn’t seem to have a real conclusion and the antagonist of the film just kind of disappears. The bookends that the writers use to tie the three films together also feel very forced and really sloppy.
A few fun effects intertwined inside of another un-scary installment in this unworthy franchise.
