Review: Insidious: Chapter 3

Set a few years before the first film, teenager Stefanie Scott seeks the special abilities of psychic Lin Shaye in contacting her dead mother. However, the session comes to an abrupt halt when Shaye encounters something incredibly disturbing, and she implores the young woman to never try to contact her mother’s spirit again. Afterwards, Scott starts to have ghostly visions, and is soon hit by a car. She’s alive, but injured and confined to a wheelchair. It’s here that things take an even more unusual and sinister turn, one that will force Scott’s sceptical, still mourning father (Dermot Mulroney) to request Shaye’s help with something her simply doesn’t understand. Otherwise, Scott may be lost in ‘The Further’ forever.

 

I enjoyed the first two films in the series, but the wheels are starting to come off a bit with this 2015 prequel from writer and debut director Leigh Whannell (screenwriter of the previous films and “Saw”). It’s just a tad underdone for me. As a director, he manages to conjure up some creepy/cool visuals and is well-serviced by cinematographer Brian Pearson (who did good work on the “My Bloody Valentine” remake), who manages to impress without shoving his artistry in our faces to the point of distraction. Also, unlike John R. Leonetti in “Annabelle” (and Whannell is indeed a better director than Leonetti at least), they know not to make things too bright, being that this is a horror film, albeit a mild one. Pearson and Whannell are particularly fond of Kubrick-esque corridor shots, and that’s just fine and dandy with this fan of “The Shining”.

 

It’s in regards to pacing that Whannell fouls up a bit. The opening 18 minutes or so are pretty strong, but after almost 40 minutes, it’s still not really getting to the crux of the film. That’s a bit too slow for me. Also not helping things is a surprisingly slumming, completely uninspiring Dermot Mulroney as one of cinema’s most ineffectual paternal figures. Mulroney looks to be doing this one entirely for the money, and it’s very disappointing, as the man does have talent. Having said that, he is perhaps a bit hamstrung with a character whose only setting appears to be ‘all angry, all of the time’. I also refuse to believe that even a middle-aged, working class guy like the one Mulroney plays would not know what a food blog is, or at least roughly how to spell/pronounce Quinoa. That’s a bit of an outdated joke, methinks.

 

On the positive side of things, and indeed a good part of the reason why those opening 18 minutes in particular are so strong, is the lovely Stefanie Scott. You’ll like this girl, and it’s really important to the success or failure of a film. I know I bang that drum a lot, but likeable protagonists (although in this case, she’s kind of an antagonist, too) are truly valuable in a horror film. Also in fine form is veteran character actress Lin Shaye. She’s terrific, and when on screen, the film works. Most of Scott’s scenes work, too. Less effective are Whannell himself and fellow Aussie actor Angus Sampson. Once again playing Shaye’s dopey offsiders (well, for the first time technically), they are meant to be comic relief, but here I didn’t find them remotely funny. They’re pitched too dumb to be plausible in a film that is trying to make other absurdities seem very horrifically real. They’re a constant irritant. As for the horror factor, it’s not too bad, but a bit mild. I wasn’t particularly frightened, possibly because the slow pace had worn on my patience.

 

I liked some of this film, but it’s an obvious step down in quality to the two previous films. Pacing is a killer here, and being a prequel robs the film of some suspense, unavoidably. I’m also bitterly disappointed with Dermot Mulroney’s lacklustre performance, but particularly his poorly written character. This one’s watchable, and the series has yet to produce an absolute dud, but it’s nothing memorable. Stefanie Scott might just go somewhere, however. Keep an eye on her.

 

Rating: C+