Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)

insidious chapter 3 poster 2015 movie
5.5 Overall Score
Story: 5/10
Acting: 6/10
Visuals: 6/10

Some creepy jumps

Generic, repetitive, and predictable

Movie Info

Movie Name:  Insidious:  Chapter 3

Studio:  Automatik Entertainment

Genre(s):  Horror

Release Date(s):  June 5, 2015

MPAA Rating:  PG-13

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Nothing is more soothing than the love of a demon

Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) has lost her mother to cancer and finds father (Dermot Mulroney) struggling to raise her and her brother.  Contacting Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) to try to reach her mother, Quinn finds she’s made contact with something else.  Quinn finds herself in danger and trapped at her home through an accident, and the creature knows it can reach her.  With the help of an internet ghostbuster demonologist team made up of Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), Elise must fight to save Quinn’s soul.

Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, Insidious:  Chapter 3 is sometimes just known as Insidious 3.  Following Insidious:  Chapter 2 in 2013, Insidious:  Chapter 3 is actually a prequel to the two previous films.  The movie received average reviews but had a strong box office return.

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Sorry that I’m not scarier than that other demon…

Insidious had some scares, Insidious:  Chapter 2 was rather forgettable, and Insidious:  Chapter 3 felt like more of the same.  Insidious:  Chapter 3 might have taken viewers back “to the beginning”, but it provides little insight.

The story feels a bit like The Entity combined with Poltergeist.  The Quinn character is physically abused over and over again by the spirit (who is trying to break her).  The only true origin aspect of the story is that it explains how Elise hooked up with the two investigators…it really doesn’t provide much origin to the two previous entries.

The cast is so-so.  Lin Shaye is decent as the head (doomed) investigator, but both Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson are like generic X-Files Lone Gunmen characters (that’s what happens when the director casts himself).  Stefanie Scott shows potential but her part of the story gets sidelined by the demonic possession.  Dermot Mulroney is rather under used and it really becomes the jumps that are the only worthwhile thing in the film.

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Darth Maul is back looking over people’s shoulders…is he really a bad guy? He generally just stands there

The jumps are very basic.  Yes, they will make you jump, but it is a very predictable jump (along the lines of every jump in something like a Paranormal Activity movie).  The monster just isn’t as compelling as the “lipstick demon” who does make a cameo here.

Insidious:  Chapter 3 was a big hit, and with the need for franchises, I don’t see this series ending anytime soon.  The end of Insidious:  Chapter 2 indicated that the lipstick demon would finally do something if Insidious:  Chapter 4 is really a sequel to Insidious:  Chapter 2.  This did not happen.  Insidious:  The Last Key was released in 2018 and was a prequel to Insidious (and once again teased the lipstick demon).

Related Links:

Insidious (2010)

Insidious:  Chapter 2 (2013)

Insidious:  The Last Key (2018)

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

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