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ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - June 5th

"INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3" released in 2015

A prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity, in Saw-screenwriter Leigh Whannell's directorial debut, Insidious Chapter 3!

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Retired parapsychologist, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), reluctantly uses her spiritual ability to contact the spirit of Quinn Brenner's (Stefanie Scott) mother, Lillith (Ele Keats), who died a year before. However, she urges Quinn not to make contact with her mother again after a demonic figure continues to haunt her, becoming increasingly malevolent as time progresses and leaving Quinn with her neck injured after the demon flings her around her bedroom. Qinn's father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) tries to convince Elise, who like him is still grieving after the loss of her husband Jack, to help his daughter, but Elise declines, stating that her previous visits to the "dark" spiritual world made her realize that an evil spirit is hunting to kill her. However, she is convinced by her fellow parapsychologist, Carl (Steve Coulter), to continue using her spiritual ability, reminding her about her successful case involving Josh Lambert and stating that she is stronger than any spirits or demons because she is living and they are not. Due to Elise's refusal, Quinn's brother Alex suggests to call the demonologists Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson), but Quinn's possession grows increasingly worse as she, now possessed by the demon, breaks through her braces. Realizing that they are scammers, Sean prepares to kick the duo out until Elise arrives timely. Deducing that the demon's goal is to lure potential victims to "the Further" so it can eat their life force, Elise decides to enter the spiritual world with Specs and Tucker recording any activities and words she spells out. With the help of a spirit who likewise is a victim of the demon, Elise enters the Further once again to face the malevolent spirit the Bride in Black (Tom Fitzpatrick) to free Quinn from her control once and for all.

[Choking Elise]
Bride In Black: This is how you die.
Elise Rainier: Not today!
[pushes Bride in Black]
Elise Rainier: Come on bitch!

Top and Above:   Parapsychologist Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly enters the Further again to rescue the spirit of a young girl, Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott)

Just two days after the release of Insidious Chapter 2, producer Jason Blum announced the development of the third entry in the Insidious franchise, with Leigh Whannell signed on to return as writer, with Blum and Oren Peli set to produce once again. However, original Insidious director James Wan was not able to return to helm Chapter 3 due to a scheduling conflict with Furious 7, leaving Wan's longtime writing partner Whannell to make his directorial debut. Returning cast - along with Whannell as Specs - included Angus Sampson as Spec's partner Tucker, and actress Lin Shaye as parapsychologist, Elise Rainier. Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney and Tate Berney were soon cast as the Brenner family, with Tom Fitzpatrick and Joseph Bishara being later confirmed to return as the demons from the Further, Bride in Black / Parker Crane and the Lipstick Demon respectively. Actress Ele Keats was then added to the cast as Lillith Brenner. Interestingly, during the filming of the climax, Whannell did not want the other actors (including Shaye and Sampson) to meet the actress playing Lillith, so they could have a more powerful reaction to her appearance, with Ele Keats not stepping onto the set until the very last second.

 Above:   Writer/director Leigh Whannell on set with stars Lin Shaye and Stefanie Scott

Released on June 5, 2015, Insidious Chapter 3 grossed an impressive $113 million gross at the box office, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 offers a relatable young protagonist and several key supporting players from the prior films in a nimble setup to the series", while Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Insidious: Chapter 3 is almost more a spoof of a classic like The Exorcist than it is an homage. It's not scary horror, it's silly horror, and the audience is in on the joke." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "This prequel to the shriek hell, directed and scripted by series writer/actor Leigh Whannell, manages to avoid the Curse of the Triple Cash Grab."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE:   58%

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