The “Insidious” series can be seen as a classier, slicker version of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series. A person falls asleep and gains access to The Further, where they are susceptible to being manipulated and attacked by demons. (The difference is that the sleeper possesses the power to enter the realm, rather than Freddy pulling them in against their will.)
By the time of “Insidious: Chapter 3” (2015), I’m thinking “classier and slicker” doesn’t always mean better. I almost wish for messy, wild new ideas from Leigh Whannel – who returns to writing duties and takes over the directing reins from series co-creator James Wan.
A window into The Further
When it comes to coloring within the lines, though, “Chapter 3” isn’t bad. In his directorial debut, Whannell’s scares are impeccably staged, and we get a fresh set-up. Sweet-natured teenager Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott, who seems like she should’ve been the lead on a Freeform teen show) is struck by a truck and is healing in her bed with two broken legs. She’s like Jimmy Stewart, but peeking into The Further rather than out a rear window.
“Insidious: Chapter 3” (2015)
Director: Leigh Whannell
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Stars: Lin Shaye, Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott
The “boogeyman in your dark bedroom” cliché gets a fresh dose of tension because Quinn can’t easily move. The wheelchair is next to her bed, and she has a bell on hand to call her dad (Dermot Mulroney’s Sean). But the demon that attached to her when she was in a post-accident coma – allowing him limited ability to exist outside The Further — can easily deal with those things.
The Brenners live in an old brownstone apartment building, a great setting for creepy, unkempt units a la “Candyman,” and unexplained knocks on walls. Whannell includes side characters – Quinn’s bestie, a boy who is crushing on her, and her kid brother, plus the specter of her deceased mother – but doesn’t do much with them.
Instead, he fills out the time with a second mini-movie that, when combined with Quinn’s, makes a full one. This thread features Lin Shaye’s medium Elise, who was killed off in “Insidious” and continued as a ghost in “Chapter 2.” Since the idea of her being a demon-investigating ghost risks being silly, Whannel makes “Chapter 3” a prequel, set a few years before the Lambert hauntings.
Elise steps into the light
Whannel hasn’t left himself with particularly deep questions to explore about Elise’s background. As we know, she’s always been a medium, and always been good at it. He comes up with the notion that she wants to get out of the game because the Woman in White (the demon that eventually kills her) is harassing her.
Does this line up with Elise’s unshakable confidence in the first film? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s hard to complain, because “Chapter 3” is a showcase for veteran actress Shaye, who makes every mediocre line of the screenplay seem deeper.
Prequels tend to have fun with narrative linkages, and the fun one here is the first meeting of Elise and her investigative partners – Specs (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). It’s mildly amusing how they pretend to believe in the supernatural as a scam, but now they actually do encounter demons. It’s sweet how Elise looks past their silly fraud and recognizes their strengths.
While the plot is generic – living human stalked by a demon, multiplied by two – “Chapter 3” does almost everything else well. Even with the Lambert family set aside, the relationships and interactions here are warmer (if a tad shallow). Shaye and Scott are strong leading women at each end of the age spectrum.
We might not look to Whannel for grand plotting or insane ideas at this point in his career (he’d take a step forward with 2018’s “Upgrade”). But he crafts scares like an expert assemblyman, making “Insidious: Chapter 3” easy to enjoy in the moment — even if it’s also easy to forget.