Insidious: Chapter 3

Director: Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell

Overview

Set prior to the haunting of the Lambert family, this truly disturbing prequel focuses on a psychic (Lin Shaye) who contacts the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who's being haunted after a botched attempt at connecting with her deceased mother.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2015
UPC:	0043396458017
Original Release:	2015
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Sony Pictures
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	20,121

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Stefanie Scott	Quinn Brenner
Lin Shaye	Elise Rainier
Dermot Mulroney	Sean Brenner
Angus Sampson	Tucker
Steve Coulter	Carl
Hayley Kiyoko	Maggie
Tom Gallop	Dr. Henderson
Tate Berney	Alex Brenner
Corbett Tuck	Danielle
Tom Fitzpatrick	Bride in Black
Jeris Poindexter	Harry
Ele Keats	Lillith Brenner
Michael Reid Mackay	The Man Who Can't Breathe
Phyllis Applegate	Grace
Phil Abrams	Mel
Erin Anderson	Two-Faced Woman
Amaris Davidson	Nurse
Ashton Moio	Hector
Fawn Irish	Lambert Woman
Taylor John Smith	Teenage Boy
Adrian Sparks	Jack Rainier
Garrett Ryan	Young Josh
Anna Ross	Dead Teenage Junkie (uncredited)
John Zaffis	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Jeris Lee Poindexter	Harry
James Wan	Theater Director
Joseph Bishara	Composer

Technical Credits

Leigh Whannell	Director
James Wan	Producer
Jason Blum	Producer
Oren Peli	Producer
Rick Osako	Producer
Phillip Dawe	Producer
Bailey Conway	Producer
Peter Schlessel	Executive Producer
Charles Layton	Executive Producer
Steven Schneider	Executive Producer
Brian Kavanaugh-Jones	Executive Producer
Jeanette Volturno	Executive Producer
Lia Buman	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

The third installment of the Insidious franchise heralds the directorial debut of screenwriter Leigh Whannell, the man responsible for penning all of the terror-inducing films in the series thus far. Horror luminary James Wan, who directed the first two movies, passes the torch to his creative partner here, and the result is a surprisingly satisfactory prequel, full of jump scares and chilling visuals. The formula might be tried-and-true, but Insidious: Chapter 3 exceeds expectations and leaves the door open for another Whannell-lead entry. The movie kicks off a few years prior to the haunting of the Lambert family (the basis of the original and Chapter 2) and introduces well-read teenager Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott), who's searching for a way to contact her recently deceased mother. Quinn pays a visit to the gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye, reprising her role for the third time) in order to talk to her mom's ghost. This earlier version of Elise lives as a recluse, mourning the loss of her husband Jack and frightened of her astonishing ability to speak to the dead. Even worse, she's haunted by a malicious spirit (fans of the franchise will quickly identify it as the Bride in Black) that's threatening her life. Elise refuses to contact Quinn's mother and instead advises her to cease her efforts, intimating that she might inadvertently allow a malevolent entity to take hold of her soul. But Quinn is naïve and still grief-stricken over the loss of her mom, and keeps trying to speak to her. Soon enough, an appearance by a sinister spirit leads to a brutal accident, leaving Quinn bedridden with two broken legs. Her life then devolves into a series of horrifying encounters with a ghost bent on dragging her down into "the Further," leaving her overworked father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) perplexed and desperate for answers. Sean pleads with Elise to save his daughter, and she reluctantly accepts -- which leads to the film's terrifying third act. Chapter 3 sorely misses the onscreen presence of previous stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, and Scott and Shaye are forced to carry the brunt of the narrative heavy lifting as a result. Thankfully, both are capable of doing so, despite some campy and frankly cringe-worthy one-liners from Shaye near the finale. Mulroney is forgettable as the strong father figure, as is the rarely seen little brother of the family (played by Tate Berney). Ultimately, the story doesn't really tap into the family dynamic in any meaningful way. Prequels are often disastrous misfires, but Insidious: Chapter 3 wades into these waters carefully and avoids trying to tie the entire series together with unnecessary revelations (although there are plenty of winks to the prior installments that fans will appreciate). In addition, there are some truly frightening scenes in this film, with jump scares being used once again for most of the big moments -- the only thing this entry lacks is the slow-building sense of terror that James Wan was able to so deftly create. It might be more of the same shocks we're all used to at this point, but Whannell and company still manage to provide summer moviegoers with an effective scarefest.