New Flix: Insidious- Chapter 3

Alright- this is the last one, right?  I've said that after every Paranormal Activity Film and I haven't been right yet.  Today's Film is Insidious: Chapter 3, a Title that is kind of a lie all things considered.  You know the drill by now, right?  This is the 3rd Film in a Horror Series made after the year 2000, so it is, of course, a Prequel.  Why does this keep coming up exactly?  The best I can figure is that Directors and/or Writers basically 'blow their load' with 2 Films and have nowhere to go.  They've killed off Leads (like Insidious did) and/or written themselves into a corner (Paranormal Activity).  What else is left if you want to make more money?  Set your Film before the others, of course, and try to maintain tension somehow.  As a bonus, you get to explain things that don't need a back-story and pat yourselves on the back for a deed 'well done.'  This time around, we learn the never-before-or-since mentioned back-story on Elise, meet some person that has no impact on the other 2 Films and learn more about the Director in his distracting Role.  Yes, Leigh Whannell has moved up to Directing here.  Good for him, but bad for me.  Is this one a unique trip for the Series or a mediocre follow-up?  To find out, read on...

In the Cold Open, a young woman (our Heroine) meets with Elise to talk to her dead Mom, but she won't.  It has something to do with an evil Spirit she never mentions in the 1st Film.  Yea?

She lives with her Dad and Brother, but can't get into some Actor School.  Thanks for letting me know all of your First-World Problems...bitch.

While staring at a Ghost (or something), this asshole hits her with his Car.  She isn't moving, so he saw her, picked up speed and never remotely-slowed down before impact.

Now with 2 broken legs, our Heroine is stuck at home.  At this point, the Ghost starts going after her full-force...every few hours or so...sometimes.

Meanwhile, Elise thinks about helping...but the Ghost apparently has enough free time to haunt her on the side.  That Time Management Class is paying off!

The Ghost finally makes a big move...for about a minute.  Its plan is all sorts of confusing, right?

Just do it already!

Eventually, Elise shows up to help (after a Cameo from that other guy from Insidious: Chapter 2) and this all feels very familiar...

Those morons who try to catch Ghosts (Hi, Director!) end up at the House along with her and...well, don't help at all.

Can the girl be saved or is all hope lost?  No SPOILERS, but...well, you know.  The End.

Meh.  This is just more of the same.  Spooky noises, random sights, concerned parents and more of the Further.  This really is just every James Wan Film.  Much like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the guy doesn't even have to Direct it for it to like his Films!  No, he was too busy making the dumbest Film of the Year- Furious 7- to work on this crap.  I guess the Studio couldn't mandate another one of these out of him this year.  Whannell doesn't totally drop the ball here, but there's not much here to sell you.  Pointless back-story is all that is really new.  Oh no, will Elise be a Hero?  Well, this is a Prequel, so...yes.  They draw it out, but we all know where this shit is going.  There are some nice visuals here...but not enough to save things.  By now, this kind of thing is just so route and obvious.  Stuff that is supposed to be a shock is just, well, not.  Making your Villain out of a dead old man (wasn't he in Insidious: Chapter 2 chasing kid Patrick Wilson) wasn't a good call.  Speaking of bad calls, can they make up their minds about the villain from Insidious: Chapter 2?  It was a lady in Insidious, revealed to be a different-looking guy in Chapter 2 and now it is a woman again!  Unless this is just the Mom (who has a mean back-hand), I'm confused.  I also don't care.  Here's James Wan trying to be Hitchcock...

Next up, some more new Horror from around the world.  What kind of Film could be next?  Stay tuned...

Quick Reviews: Insidious- Chapter 2

After I wasn't super 'in love' with the Original (but it was still decent), how will the inevitable Sequel turn out?  Let's see...

In a somewhat-pointless Flashback opening, we learn about Josh's earlier targeting by a spirit.  We already knew all that, but it did give us the creepy over-dub of Elise's voice on her 'younger self.'

Is that better or worse than Digital De-Aging of Actors?  Discuss.

In the wake of what happened in the last Film, Josh is now possessed by an evil Spirit.  How he didn't fend it off is anyone's guess I suppose.  He managed to scare off that Freddy-acting guy earlier...

Since it worked so well twice in The Amityville Horror, the Dad now starts to act suspicious and more aggressive.

Since it worked so well in Insidious, we get lots and lots of Scenes of the Mom being spooked.  Yea?

With 'Male Elise' on the case (along with the Screenwriter and his buddy), we learn that this has to do with the Spirit of a Male Killer who dressed like his Mother to kill women.

There's an Homage and then there is just ripping off a Film.  Tell me how this isn't ripping off Psycho- please.

With the Ghosts of his victims haunting everyone (for some reason!) and the Dad losing control, can the day be saved?  For once, I won't SPOIL this one next time...since the 3rd Film is a Prequel (naturally).  The End.

I was expecting a letdown (given the Reviews) and I wasn't disappointed...that I was disappointed.  Make sense?  Who knows?  The basic idea is fine: people try to find Ghosts to save family.  It works well enough.  The problem: the Film tries to get gimmicky.  They go to the 'Horror Well' way too often as if this 2nd Film in a Series needs to remind you of other Films to make you like it.  You got a great response from the 1st Film, so what do you have to prove, James?  It isn't like they don't do their 'Homages' well enough.  I won't say that the make-up work and visuals aren't good.  The problem is that they don't feel too inspired.  My other big thing is the odd turn that the Third Act takes.  Without SPOILing things too much, the Further appears to allow you to interact with outside events at different times.  Is this Interstellar now?  Yes, I know that this one came out first- thanks.  If this was super-thoroughly planned out and all of these things panned out perfectly, I might be more forgiving.  However, most of what they play with happened in the Film you were already watching.  That's...less impressive.  In addition, can I ask why these Spirits always show up on Camera?  Furthermore, why does Josh's family keep all of this information to themselves?  Even if they don't want fame, they could help Elise AND help any Family who may be wary of calling someone like her.  How many Families needed help, but didn't call for it due to the stigma?  Good job, Barbara Hershey!  The Film's biggest crime though: reminding me of this lady again!

 A bit of a retread of the first Film and with too many 'Homages' to not be distracting.  This was bound to disappoint a little, right?

Quick Reviews: Insidious

Alright, alright- I'll touch this Franchise.  Believe it or not, this may be my first James Wan Film Review...

A young Family moves into a new Home and has to deal with the issues involved.  In addition...

One of their Sons suddenly goes into a mysterious Coma!  Doctors are no help as the Months go by.

When things get really bad, the Mother comes to Visit and talks about a dream she had.  Evil is in the House!

Well, that or Finn Balor.

The Mother gets them to call in some Experts- including the Film's Screenwriter on the left there.  Will this WASPy Tangina save the day?

Without SPOILing too much, the Father (Patrick Wilson, from my hometown BTW) must go to a dark place to rescue his Son.

Even if they can get the job done right, what dark secret is revealed at the End of this Film?  I won't SPOIL it...until I kind of have to when I Review the Sequel.  The End.

A good Film, but not mind-blowing.  Considering all of the hype, was I expecting more?  The Story isn't bad, but never really escapes cliche too much.  Supposedly the Writer- Leigh Whannel- had a Board up in his Office with Horror Cliches up in order to avoid them.  He did avoid a few, but not as many as you might think.  The Story hits a number of familiar beats and many of the jump scares are pretty telegraphed.  Visual aspects are inspired by/lifted fully from Films like The Exorcist, Poltergeist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and a little bit of Pan's Labyrinth.  The Acting is mostly good, feeling very natural.  I'm still not a big fan of Leigh Whannel as an Actor though.  He's not distractingly-bad, but he isn't all that good either.  Overall, they do a good job establishing mood and atmosphere, which is a must for a Film like this.  In summary, I get the initial hype that the Film got, but don't necessarily love it as much as everyone else.  It was nice to see the return of The Woman In Black though...

A good Film, but it was a bit cliche for me at times.  I was never *too surprised* by this one, but it is solid enough.