Director: Leigh Whannell
Screenplay: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Dermot Mulroney
Genre: Horror, Drama
Rating: 15
Screenplay: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Dermot Mulroney
Genre: Horror, Drama
Rating: 15
Although it seems a little too daring to attempt to create
another horror movie series as successful as the terrifying Saw films - which grossed over half a
billion dollars worldwide – the mastermind producer-writer team behind the revolutionary
franchise (Leigh Whannell, James Wan) here push forward with their second chain
of horror films: Insidious, and the
third instalment – Insidious: Chapter 3. Daring
it may be, disappointing it is not, as this film makes for a fantastic horror
that gets your heart racing and your body trembling.
The movie serves as a prequel to the Lambert haunting from
the first two, telling the story of Quinn (Stefanie Scott), a bright, sparky
teenager who tries to reach out to her late mother with help from psychic Elise
(Lin Shaye) but instead attracts a demon spirit whom attaches itself to her
soul, with the aim to take her to join it in the darkness of The Further. Whilst
the tale of Shaye’s character is established in the earlier films, Whannell here
lets the well-esteemed actress take her rightful spotlight, by allowing her
more screen-time and presenting her to have a much more important role. Shaye
tackles this with brilliance, showcasing a surprising range of emotions for the
usually vapid horror movie heroin – whether these be feelings of terror and
haunt, grief and loss or strength and resilience, Shaye does them well.
The helplessly bedbound Quinn is played astoundingly with a
vulnerability that helps the audience to empathise with her terror, but also
with a powerful integrity that manages to defy any silly damsel-in-distress
stereotypes that women often face in the horror industry. In fact, Insidious: Chapter 3’s strength comes mainly
from its two female leads and how skilfully these actresses attack their roles,
written so complimentarily by Whannell.
Whannell is exceptional not only with his haunting script, but also with his directing debut. His scare-factor timing and eerie pacing are so efficiently done, teaming well with silent, creeping camera shots and a jolting score from Joseph Bishara to create a film with so much mounting suspense that it is hardly watchable at times. Typical of any horror movie, there are twists, turns and bumps in the dark aplenty, however what is not typical of any horror movie is a story so profound, and characters so likeable, that the audience feel like they are really involved in this tale. This, of course, makes the scary moments (there are many) all the more terrifying.
Whannell is exceptional not only with his haunting script, but also with his directing debut. His scare-factor timing and eerie pacing are so efficiently done, teaming well with silent, creeping camera shots and a jolting score from Joseph Bishara to create a film with so much mounting suspense that it is hardly watchable at times. Typical of any horror movie, there are twists, turns and bumps in the dark aplenty, however what is not typical of any horror movie is a story so profound, and characters so likeable, that the audience feel like they are really involved in this tale. This, of course, makes the scary moments (there are many) all the more terrifying.
Insidious: Chapter 3 may be one of the best horror films I
have seen in a long while. This story is so real that it sticks with you and
will still make you shudder as you lay down to sleep that night, which is what
scary movies were set out to do. Perhaps, then, Whannell and Pan’s attempt to
create the next best horror series is not as farfetched as we once thought.
Watch this space.
