John's Gems: A Carpenter Throwback

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

 Story - 4
Writing - 4
Acting - 4
Production - 4
Intent - 4
Overall - 4/5 - Go see it in theaters

(Top) John Carpenter
(Middle left) Bob Clark,
James Wan, Don Coscarelli
(Bottom) Wes Craven

          I’m 25 years old, my first horror movie was Child’s Play when I was 3, and the very first movie I ever owned was a VHS copy of Halloween 1 & 2. Very rarely does a horror movie actually stick with me and cause me to feel the need to have a light on in the dark, but James Wan and his Insidious films have done just that. Not since John Carpenter, with the dark magic of his musical tones, have I seen films with such horror elements. The sounds, the cinematography, the horrifying subtlety of the jump scares, they all come together in such a unique way as to push you beyond the realm of uncomfortable and into a dark place reserved only for your deepest nightmares. This series has so far, along with almost every other James Wan film, set a new bar for horror films. Like his horror forefathers he has revolutionized this epic genre, joining the ranks of such iconic name as Bob Clark (Black Christmas), John Carpenter (Halloween/The Thing), Don Coscarelli (Phantasm), or Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street). Everything this man touches in turn becomes a touch of everyone’s nightmares!

Story 4 – The story for Insidious 3 is a prequel story, as seen in the previews. While there is a young girl in supernatural trouble the story is more revolved around Elise. We see characters from the original films who help link this prequel with the original film, Insidious. This means that there are 2 distinguishable stories going on at the same time during this movie. While that can be a problem for any movie, in terms of giving enough attention to both while at the same time making sure that they connect and yet don’t interfere with one another, this film seems to make it work beautifully. What’s interesting to me is that in order to make such a film work then usually the film is longer than normal. Or, at least a little over 2 hours. That isn’t so for Insidious 3. For this film I must admit that the movie feels short, and yet, it turned out to be very satisfying in every way. To follow through so well with two stories in one film and with such an obstacle in terms of time is an amazing feature. As seen in the previews we have the story of the injured girl being pursued by a “man who can’t breathe”, and a woman who can help (Elise) but needs some help of her own. This isn’t like the other Insidious films where the great and powerful Elise comes in to save the day. Unfortunately the one set back is, unlike the Parker Crane from the second film, you don’t get a lot of information on the evil entity pursuing the young girl in this film. The way he’s dressed, the manner in which his spirit is left to be for all time, it really brings up a lot of interesting questions but there just aren’t any answers. I guess you can make up your own story if you want, but I would have loved to hear their story of the “man who can’t breathe”. In this story it is all about new beginnings . . . and Insidious endings!

Writing 4 – Writing in a horror film is such a moot concept. It’s usually either cliché to the point of making your eyes roll or it’s too dramatic and seems almost comical. But as with anything in this world there are exceptions. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing truly exceptional about the writing but it is smart by remaining simple and allowing the actions do most of the talking (or screaming in this matter). With that said I would say that, in my opinion, this is the best written film in the series so far in regards to dialogue. There’s really nothing cliché in it, you get a lot of information on Elise and her two “able bodied” male companions, and as I said above, the writers did an amazing job of connecting the two different stories while making sure one didn’t interfere too much with the other. Tucker and Specs are once again the comic relief and have some of their best lines in the series so far. Comedy is important in a horror movie because it’s a great way to loosen you up for what’s about to come. After half an hour, or more, of being tensed up and scared, waiting for the next thing to make you jump and trying to anticipate what will happen, it’s important to have characters with lines that loosen you back up and cause you to relax. You may not want to, but you do. So it’s good that this film has some well written comedy because it also has a lot of well executed horror!

Acting 4 – Lin Shaye is just amazing, a true revelation in the horror genre. Not since Tangina from Poltergeist (the original 1982 version and not the beyond crappy remake) have I felt such confidence for a hero in horror. What’s great about the performance of Lin Shaye is she took a character who is bold and heroic, staring boldly into “The Further” without hesitation or fear, and reveling this character to also be extremely vulnerable and more human in this film. She does such a good job that you almost don’t recognize the character as being the same as from the first and second until near the end. Stefanie Scott, playing the girl in distress Quinn Brenner, does a great job as well. Being scared of a crazy person chasing you with a machete isn’t too hard to do. Anyone can recall a time of being afraid while being chased. But trying to act scared of something you’ve never experienced or even come close to experiencing, now that’s a challenge. In my opinion Stefanie does a good job of selling the fear to the viewers. Not a great job, but a good one. Unfortunately acting is never this genre’s strong point. Rest of the characters sell their characters well enough to move the story along and keep you in the moment. Nothing amazing, but still good.

Production 4 – The musical tones, the cinematography, the costumes, the make-up, it was all just so perfect. In the first two films many people saw the dramatic fashion of The Further, the dead, and especially the demon as being comical rather than scary. In respect I must also say that it scared just as many people, if not more, and I was one of those in the latter. But in this film they pull back on the dramatic concepts and really focus on here, our world, the world of the living. Something that stood out to me, production wise, was the costume and make-up of the evil entities. As I said, the demon from the first one seemed to make half the audience laugh and the other half recoil in fear. For this film we see these evil entities walk and move more normal than the previous movies, their make-up is a little more grounded and not as explosive in color or concept, and the costumes are very basic yet unsettling. For me, I feel they found a good middle ground where more people are frightened or uneasy as opposed to only half frightened while the other half is laughing.

Intent 4 – Not going to lie, this film is intended to frighten you and it does just that . . . for most of the film anyway. I’d say a little more than half of the movie is almost non-stop horror while the rest of it is action. I promise, as always, no spoilers but I will say one thing regarding Elise. Remember the first time you saw Yoda fly around and kick some ass in Star Wars Episode 2, or when Gandalf fought the fire demon and wouldn’t let him pass, and you were just in amazement of seeing these reserved and powerful masters of their craft actually use their power. You were in a movie theater almost about to pop a blood vessel from your eyes widening so much or your fists clinching so hard. Well, in terms of horror films we don’t often get those kinds of heroes. Like I said before, we had Tangina from Poltergeist, maybe Constantine from Constantine, or even Burt from Tremors . . . like said, we don’t have much. But now we have another, because while we get a lot of action in this horror movie its action that I have been dying to see. In the first film we saw Elise coach Patrick Wilson’s character how to fight the dead, and in the second we see her fight them directly. But in this film she doesn’t just fight, she straight up

battles these things and becomes a straight up paranormal-jedi knight-ninja ass kicking. While however cool, it takes a large chunk of time out of the film and since it’s intended to be a film to scare you I must drop the intent rating some. But, and I say this with humility and excitement, I haven’t been frightened by a jump scare of any kind for a long time and yet, this film got me more than a couple of times. I’m telling you, you will jump! Also this film does something which I think James Wan is trying to employee in all of his horror films. The Conjuring, Annabelle, Insidious 1 and 2, they all eventually have things happen during the day, in broad daylight. This film does the same. What’s scary about that is it makes it to where you are never safe. The old way of being safe during the day is over when you see a James Wan film. So what if its noon time? Who cares if it’s a beautiful bright and sunny day? James Wan and his directors are still going to think of a way to scare the shit out of you and tear that little sunny safety blanket away. And as a last little bit of advice, if you want your heart to pound as you walk out then stay until the end . . . don’t blink! (not the end of the credits, just the end of the story)