Insidious Chapter 3

Over the past ten years, horror movies have fallen into a rutt. Instead of coming out with new and innovative ideas; old ideas are rehashed and given a new coat of paint. If these are somewhat successful then a slew of sequels are soon to follow with less story and more cheap thrills. So far, the only horror movies I've loved recently were Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2. I thought that they were scary and had a very interesting mythos. The ideas were fresh and, honestly,  I've never been so scared and exited in a long time. With all that said, I was really looking forward to Insidious: Chapter 3 but, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

She just shit a brick

For anyone who hasn't seen the two previous films (or just avoid horror movies like the plague). Insidious is about a family whose son's soul is captured by a demon and with the help of a psychic, paranormal investigators, and the boy's father; save his life. The sequel has to do with the aftermath of events in the first movie and ends with a very open and exciting ending for a sequel. Insidious: Chapter 2 ends with the psychic and her two companions going to a house and finding out the demon from the first movie is up to it's old ways and has found a new victim. I was excited for this sequel because I thought I was seeing the continuation from chapter 2, but instead got a less scary and sort of boring prequel.

Join the Dark Side

Now, I don't hate what they did with this movie because I like getting back ground on characters I like that. Elise, the psychic from the first two movies, is back and we learn more about her.  Specs and Tucker's relationship with Elise also gets further explained which is nice to know. Luckily, the returning characters are all played by the original actors which is wonderful. The main problem was with this one was the story.

The movie is about a girl named Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) who goes to see Elise (Lin Shaye) saying that her mother has died and she needs to contact her. Elise explains that she can't use her gift because something (someone) is preventing her from using her abilities. Elise explains that trying to contact her mother isn't a safe thing and she shouldn't try. Heartbroken, Quinn goes home and does exactly what she isn't supposed to an calls out to her mom. Unfortunately, something answers. Events happen in the movie, and Quinn is left with two broken legs and is confined to her bed. This of course make her an easy target for this being who wants her, body and soul. Her father (Dermot Mulroney) gets in contact with Elise to enlist her helping saving his daughter from this peril.

This movie felt like the Halloween 3 of the Insidious franchise, even if it wasn't a huge departure from the previous films. The scares in the movie are genuinely terrifying, but they felt to few and far between. The creature that is haunting her is not as scary as one would hope once it is finally shown. The demon from the first movie I felt was a more impressive (even though many say he looked like Darth Maul). The acting and story felt very out of place and the newer cast felt like they were out of there own skin. The only thing that makes this movie worth watching is the lore. Many things that left you puzzled from the previous movies are explained here. This is nice, but why make a whole movie based on minor things that could be explained in flash backs? Easy; to make more money. Regardless, this is not a movie without it's moments but the fear and excitement I experienced from the previous films is long gone. I'll probably purchase this movie to add to my collection solely for the name Insidious. This isn't to say that I won't be anticipating  the inevitable chapter 4 where hopefully I will see my Darth Maul demon again. I give Insidious Chapter 3 four jump scares out of ten. Remember kids, never use a ouji board because contacting spirits isn't for children though Milton Bradly would have you think so.

Ouji boards are fun kids. Look at the results