“Insidious: Chapter 3,” directed and written by Leigh Whannell, is the third installment of the Insidious franchise.
It tells the story of the origins of Elise, played by Lin Shaye, and her connection with the family in the first two movies. After the death of her husband, Elise stops using her psychic gifts, even when young Quinn Brenner, played by Stefanie Scott, comes to her for help. Quinn has been trying to reach out to her dead mother and feels as though she is near true communication. But when Elise reluctantly reaches out to Quinn’s mother, she is met with a fear from her past, stops and warns Quinn against reaching out to the dead. The film twists and turns without warning, keeping the audience breathing quickly, as Quinn’s and Elise’s journeys unfold.
True, this installment in the franchise follows the previous movies with terrifying music and sound, adding extreme fear to the audience’s experience. However, this movie fails to live up to the previous scripts. Majority of the dialogue was repetitive and immature, which made no sense when coming out of the characters mouths. Unfortunately, the actors didn’t have much to work with, leading to their inevitable subpar performances. At times, Shaye, Scott and Dermot Mulroney, who plays Quinn’s father, reach into their arsenal and pull out their true talent. But overall, the main aspect that kept the movie intriguing was the suspense and pull of the plot. The story itself was brilliantly fleshed out, from beginning to end, leading to the explanation of the previous movies. If only the script and acting had been treated with as much thought as the actual plot line, this movie may have been more enjoyable.
Insidious Chapter 3 comes out June 5.
-Talia Edelheit
