Insidious:
Chapter 3
(2015/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: C+
Ever
since Paranormal
Activity
debuted in theaters a 2009, the ghost/paranormal subgenre of horror
has been prevalent with many of them being PG-13 rated outings. At
the top of the bunch are the Insidious
films, which border an R-rating at times and manage to tell a direct
narrative instead of relying on found footage to tell a creepy story.
While
the first Insidious
was a huge hit and pretty entertaining, many scoffed at its sequel,
which was more of the same and felt like a cash-in as opposed to
being a necessary sequel. When this third film came out, which is a
prequel to the first, I was pretty skeptical having not liked the
second but found out after watching that it was better than I
expected, with some effective scares and a great performance by
returning actress Lin Shaye and newcomer Stefanie Scott who is our
female lead.
Set
before the haunting of the Lambert family, this chapter in the
Insidious
franchise reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Shaye)
reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to
help a teenage girl named Quinn Brenner (Scott) who is desperate to
speak to her deceased Mother. After a near death experience, Quinn
ends up being able to speak to the dead and gain access to 'the
further' (the dark realm where the dead live) and ends up in danger
with Elise Rainer and other Ghost Hunters being the only ones who can
help her and bring her back to reality.
Having
recently reviewed the remake of Poltergeist
(see elsewhere on this site), I found this film to be far more creepy
and entertaining with strong production design and creepy characters
that compliment the narrative. This film seemed to rely less on
digital effects and more on capturing the psychological side whereas
I felt Poltergeist
leaned too heavily on slick filmmaking and CGI to tell its story.
While not as effective as The
Conjuring
nor quite as good as the original, I felt like this 'Chapter' is
worthy of a watch and not bad for what it is.
What
I liked most about this outing that I felt put it a step above the
sequel were the psychological and claustrophobic scenes that occur
after Quinn's car accident. Breaking both of her legs, Quinn is
constrained to her bed and not able to move for much of the film's
second act. One effective scene has the ghost pushing her out of the
bed and onto the floor turning out all of the lights and breaking her
neck. This, paired with an effective possession scene in the third
act where she breaks out of the casts and walks on her broken legs
prove to be pretty memorable cinema and not bad considering this is
the first film for director Leigh Whannell.
Presented
in 1080p digital High Definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of
2.39:1 and a powerful, lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track,
the film looks and sounds great on Blu-ray disc. With its effective
sound mix, it will be sure to make you jump if you turn out all the
lights. There is also an Ultraviolet copy of the film included for
your tablet or smartphone.
Extras
include:
Origin
Story: Making Chapter 3
Stunts:
The Car Crash
Macabre
Creations
Cherry
Glazerr: Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Being
Haunted: A Psychic Medium Speaks
Deleted
Scenes and Previews for other Sony Titles
If
you're a fan of paranormal films and liked the first, I would suggest
giving this chapter a spin. While not completely original or
terrifying, it has some creepy moments that make it effective and
more than just another bland horror sequel.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
