REVIEW: Insidious- Chapter 3

The first time I watched James Wan's Insidious, I honestly didn't like it. I considered it a so-bad-it's-good ghost flick that was best enjoyed with an audience who all enjoyed laughing at the musical stylings of Tiny Tim. Insidious: Chapter 2 was a pleasant surprise; not only did I thoroughly enjoy it, it actually managed to retroactively improve the first film in my eyes. As time has passed, the series has really grown on me and I now enjoy partaking in the occasional Insidious double-feature, watching both films back-to-back in a darkened room with a group of friends. The series manages to be well-made, scary, imaginative, and tons of fun all at the same time. With that kind of pedigree behind it, it's a shame that Insidious: Chapter 3 manages to feel both mediocre and unnecessary.

Taking place a few years before the original hauntings in the first movie, the story follows the Brenner family; still recovering from the loss of her mother, Quinn Brenner (Stephanie Scott) seeks the help of Elise (Lin Shaye), the psychic medium from the first two films. While Quinn has tried (unsuccessfully) to contact her mother's spirit in the past, she cannot shake the feeling that there's a presence watching over her. Sensing something evil is afoot, Elise warns the young girl against dabbling in ghost-whispering in the future, for fear of unintentionally contacting a malevolent spirit. Sure enough, this is exactly what happens and, after an accident leaves her recovering in a wheelchair, Quinn finds herself menaced by a wheezing demon who wants nothing more than to do all manner of nasty, spooky things with her immortal soul.

The first red flag here is that, despite this being Chapter 3, it is a prequel. This would be fine, except it doesn't really add anything to the story of the other films. We get a bit of backstory for Elise and we see how she began working with series regulars Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson, the former of whom has taken on both writing and directing duties); other than a few jarring winks to the audience, it contributes nothing new to the series. The character of Elise appears in the other two Insidious movies (which take place after this one), so any scene in which she's in danger is immediately removed of all dramatic tension; we see her later on, so we know that no matter what happens, she'll emerge totally unscathed. The previous two films established a standard of ending on a cliffhanger; it usually answers one question while raising another that will inevitably be answered in the sequel. I was genuinely interested in seeing where the story would go after the way Chapter 2 ended, but that plot thread seems to be completely ignored here. As I mentioned, James Wan wasn't involved with this one at all and it really shows; the whole thing feels like someone attempting to ape his style, but not quite pulling it off. There are a few scenes that actually work, showing creepy imagery in the background, building solid tension, and generally toying with the audience until something comes along to scare them out of their pants. These scenes are few and far between, sadly; the majority of spooky scenes this time around involve a character looking around a dark room for a bit before someone in a spooky mask pops out and yells "BLARGH". Sure, it'll make you jump, but the thrill is immediately gone afterward; it's a cheap shot that gets cheap results. The previous two films are well-shot ghost stories, but this film is more akin to sneaking up behind someone and popping a balloon when they aren't expecting it.

The performances here are nothing spectacular, but they get the job done, I suppose. Shaye, Whannell, and Sampson are all good as Elise, Specs, and Tucker, but then they've easily been the highlights of the series so far. Dermot Mulroney is fine as Quinn's father, but I really wish we got more characterization out of him. They hint in one scene that he has his own issues regarding his wife's death, but it's never brought up again. He simply spends the entire film as the beleaguered, old-fashioned dad; that's fine for the first act, in which the characters' everyday lives are established before the supernatural funtimes begin, but part of what made the original films so strong was how interesting the central family was. Each character reacted to the horrifying events in their own way, which helped us empathize with their plight. They felt like real people, which is the crux to making any horror movie work; from Alien to The Exorcist, believable characters help keep things grounded and work to sell the scares. Here, the Brenner family is comprised of a few totally flat characters who exist only to be scared by things. Stephanie Scott is good at looking terrified, which honestly helps this movie a fair bit when it comes to keeping the adrenaline pumping. I never really felt for her character, but I definitely thought "ooh, that's a bad situation" more than a few times, which shows that the film is doing something right. There's one sequence in particular which employs a remote night-vision camera; I won't spoil anything, but the highlight of Scott's performance here is easily found in this scene. If the entire movie were as good as this one moment, it'd be a strong contender for the best film in the franchise.

The biggest problem with Insidious: Chapter 3 is that this simply wasn't a film that needed to be made. It adds nothing new to the story and feels like a transparent cash-grab meant to bank on name-recognition and a few recurring characters. While it certainly has its moments here and there, they aren't enough to completely salvage this spiritless prequel. Hopefully James Wan will return to direct any future entries in the series, considering how it really feels like his absence is what hurt this movie the most.