Insidious: Chapter 3

A prequel to its two predecessors, Insidious: Chapter 3 follows the Brenner family (Dermot Mulroney’s Sean, Stefanie Scott’s Quinn, and Tate Berney’s Alex) as their new home is increasingly menaced by an unseen (and decidedly malevolent) entity – with the characters eventually forced to turn to Lin Shaye’s psychic and a pair of goofball internet ghost hunters (Leigh Whannell’s Specs and Angus Sampson’s Tucker). Screenwriter and first-time director Whannell has infused Insidious: Chapter 3 with precisely the sort of deliberate execution that one has come to expect from this series (and films of this ilk), with the lackadaisical pace effectively establishing the newly-introduced characters and cultivating an atmosphere of slow-burning dread – although, by that same token, it’s just as clear that the lack of horrific happenings within the movie’s first half is sure to test the patience of certain viewers. Whannell’s old-school sensibilities are reflected most keenly in the movie’s overtly tense moments, as the filmmaker does an effective job of infusing such sequences with a palpably suspenseful vibe that is, for the most part, free of modern-day jump scares. (This isn’t to say that random instances of surprise shocks are completely absent, of course.) And while Whannell peppers the narrative with a handful of unusually engrossing interludes (eg a central character is possessed by the aforementioned entity), Insidious: Chapter 3, as a slightly above-average ghost story, ultimately falls right in line with both Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2 and it’s finally clear that the movie will leave fans satisfied (and detractors as disappointed as ever).

**1/2 out of ****