I’ll say this, that when Blumhouse
first started coming out with some of their supernatural thrillers
(like the original “Insidious” and “Sinister”), I was all on board.
After having endured ten years or so of so-called “torture porn” films, I
was happy to see mainstream horror moving away from that and towards
something that would hopefully leave more to the imagination. The
problem is, I think many of these filmmakers have hit the limit as far as imagination goes for this sub-genre and “Insidious: Chapter III” feels like a glaring example.
While I will commend the film for trying to use a more subdued approach
with this entry (especially after all the confusing and chaotic plot lines in “Chapter II”), the biggest problem is it never seems to
provide any genuine sense of creepiness that the original (and to a
lesser extent, its sequel) had in spades. In fact, by this point it all
feels like an old hat, and first time director Leigh Wannell seems more
focused on creating jump scares than telling a cohesive story. I never
really felt like I knew who the main character was, as the first half
seems like it’s following Stefanie Scott’s character, while the second
half switches focus by giving us a back story to Lin Shaye’s psychic
character from the first two films. Add to that a ghostly villain who
we never really learn anything about, nor what his intentions are, to
where all we do know about him is he’s bad (and that he has a breathing
mask, which seemed an odd choice for a ghost to be wearing).
Then there’s the script, which is not only thin in terms of plot, but the dialog is atrocious at points (poor Lin Shaye having to say cringe worthy things like, “Bring it, bitch!”). Could James Wan, the director of the first two, have been able to do more with it? Possibly. Wan certainly has more experience working with actors, but with a dud of a script like this I think even he’d have a hard time getting them to sell such awful lines. Although, Wan does like to move the camera around, which in films like these heightens the tension, creating a sense that anything could appear at any given moment. Wannell on the other hand, keeps most everything steady (a little TOO steady), and because of that I never felt on edge. I really wish he had used that more in his favor, by suddenly turning on his audience (though he comes close to it in one scene). As a result, I was mostly bored with the overall product and by the film’s end, I was left hoping that this will be the concluding chapter!
Then there’s the script, which is not only thin in terms of plot, but the dialog is atrocious at points (poor Lin Shaye having to say cringe worthy things like, “Bring it, bitch!”). Could James Wan, the director of the first two, have been able to do more with it? Possibly. Wan certainly has more experience working with actors, but with a dud of a script like this I think even he’d have a hard time getting them to sell such awful lines. Although, Wan does like to move the camera around, which in films like these heightens the tension, creating a sense that anything could appear at any given moment. Wannell on the other hand, keeps most everything steady (a little TOO steady), and because of that I never felt on edge. I really wish he had used that more in his favor, by suddenly turning on his audience (though he comes close to it in one scene). As a result, I was mostly bored with the overall product and by the film’s end, I was left hoping that this will be the concluding chapter!
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