Insidious: Chapter 3 Plot Summary:
In this prequel to the horrifying original, a young girl named Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) is haunted by a demon and the only help this family has for stopping this malevolent force is the one and only Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye).
It looks like the Insidious franchise may not have been lost in “The Further” as originally thought.
While this film has its faults, (and is nowhere near as good as the original), the film is an excellent improvement over the second chapter of the series, and offers some really amazing, heart racing frights.
The film plays on its strengths — truly frightening pop up scare, the amazing and tasteful camera work which built the suspense to a perfect point, and a strong performances from Insidious veteran Lin Shaye and newcomer Stefanie Scott.
The new direction of the film, thanks to Leigh Whannell, really brings in the frights for the audiences. It’s all about the slow build – having the camera move slowly throughout the house, showing images in the corner of the screen, or just showing a figure from far away, really added a sense of terror and dread to a film that could have easily become predictable. These camera tricks, along with music elevated in scenes signaled something was going to happen. The pop up scares that come out of nowhere really helped this movie maintain its freshness in a series where that was all but pronounced DOA.
The performances of Scott and Shaye were truly entertaining and eerie, with Shaye bringing the true essence of professionalism in her role and encompassing her character, giving it her all, while Scott proves to the world she isn’t just a Disney channel darling, but it turning into a regular scream queen.
Nonetheless, these performances couldn’t carry the film on their own, and unfortunately not many other supporting characters in the film really delivered.
Possibly the most shocking of these dull performances was that of Dermot Mulroney who plays the protective father of the film. While he is usually delightful, he was just a bit too over the top in this film, bringing drama to places where it wasn’t necessary (hence the extreme melodramatics of the film). On multiple occasions he seemed to struggle to get out the line he was supposed to deliver. His performance, to say the least, was disappointing.
All in all, the film is an extreme improvement over the misfire that was Insidious: Chapter 2. Yet, this film is lacking the game-changing element, and realistically scary feel that made the original Insidious so special and terrifying. While the film can be a bit too dramatic at times, the scares really save the film form mediocrity. The new direction of the film, thanks to Whannell, really helps make the film livelier than originally thought to be, with impressive camera work and the use of the underappreciated, and immensely talented actress Lin Shaye to really move the film along on its petrifyingly creepy route. To say that Insidious is back to its glory is an overstatement, but it looks like “The Further” hasn’t possessed this film just yet.
Rating: 6 ½ out of 10
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Laura Dengrove is the one of youngest members of the Pop-Break staff and is a critic for television/movies of all types on Pop-Break. She’s going into her second year at college where she will be studying to obtain her bachelors degree at Rutgers University for Journalism/Public Relations. She was the editor for the Arts and Entertainment section of her school newspaper, runs her own blog (Pop Culture Darling), and interns for Design New Jersey. She also has an in-depth knowledge about all things True Blood and an avid Eric and Sookie shipper =============================================================================================================
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