“Into the Further we go.” –Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye)

Did we need another Insidious movie? We probably did not. Does it make a worthy concluding (or introductory) chapter to the scary saga? It does, albeit with a few missteps here and there.

We begin with Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) driving to the house of Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) to get some badly-needed help and guidance coping with the recent death of her mother.  At first, Elise refuses, saying she does not do that anymore. But soon enough she relents, and tries to contact Quinn’s mother. And she regrets it.

I really like that the two sequels to the original Insidious have gone backward in time, not only to fill in the blanks of the narrative, but also to give more screen time to the treasure that is Lin Shaye. She is a very bright spot in what could be a very dreary tale.

Something dark and evil has attached itself to Quinn and is intent upon taking her soul back to The Further.  As things get more and more dire in the Brenner household, Elise has frightening nightmares (and daymares) that lead her back on her inevitable course to help the young girl.

There are not a whole lot of new things here in this movie, no boundaries are pushed, no uncharted territories explored. There is a reliance on jump scares and shrieking music cues to make the audience scream, and, as effective as that can be, it can also wear out its welcome by the time the climax arrives.  It didn’t happen for me (it came close), but it might for you.

Write-director Leigh Whannell has done a very good job with a tough assignment. His love for these characters (particularly Elise) shines through all the obligatory exposition required to move the story (which is as it should be, since he wrote the first two movies). There are some extremely effective and shocking moments, and there are some…not so effective moments.

Our dear friends from Spectral Sightings make an appearance near the end, and they are a welcome respite from the dark happenings so far. I wish there was more of Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) in this, as they really have fun with their characters and the banter between them is, as usual, quite funny.  Heck, I would watch an entire series (TV, movies, webisodes, whatever) of these guys traveling to different haunted locations and engaging in shenanigans.

Oh, look:

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER - Specs and Tucker Webisode 1

As much as I enjoyed this movie, and the two previous, I hope the filmmakers are done with Insidious movies and move on to an original story or two.  Whannell shows here that he has a real director’s eye for compelling frames, and we already know he’s a good writer (Saw, Dead Silence). It would be nice to see what he does as director with an original script, something not based on previous characters or situations.

I look forward to it, in fact.

Insidious Chapter 3 Uncle Mike sez: lower your expectations a bit, then check it out.

Insidious Chapter 3
RATING:	PG-13	Insidious: Chapter 3 Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye Horror Sequel HD
Genre:	Horror, Drama, Thriller
Runtime:	1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By:	Leigh Whannell
Written By:	Leigh Whannell