The Insidious franchise has been wowing audiences by bring back old school horror. The first movie was a surprise hit. The second one pleased the critics but left the audience wanting more. Now, going along the same lines and using the same old formula, Insidious: Chapter 3 tries too hard to rejuvenate the old fashioned spook. The movie, a prequel to the film in the series, starts off with Quinn Brenner trying to contact her mother but instead inviting something much more deadlier to her life.

The million dollar question on the minds of everyone who is going to watch a horror flick almost always is: Is this movie really scary? To answer that question, no Insidious: Chapter 3 is definitely not the scariest movie of the year. But the repetitive scares are more than enough to make you jump out of your seats. While it is very rare for a third film to surpass its predecessor, Insidious: Chapter 3 despite being morbid, captures the brilliant atmosphere created by James Wan in the original. The audience gets the much needed insight into how the character of Elise got to where she is in the first installment of the franchise.

All the actors and the actresses starring in the film have done a great job, but Lin Shayne, who plays the psychic Elise is the real show stealer. Her range as an actress has been expanding with every film of the franchise. She makes you root for her, feel her suffering and also makes you laugh with her. She truly holds the film together at points where it is very visibly falling apart. You might as well say, Shayne gives you sufficient reason to want a Chapter 4.

Insidious: Chapter 3 offers the audience something more than most horror movies. From the very first scene, you can guess that the movie is headed in a completely different direction. While it doesn’t pack a punch with the scares, it is the emotional undercurrent that stands out. Grief and dealing with the death of a loved one are the subjects the first two movies didn’t really talk about. Avoiding cliches and conventionality, Whannell has put together a frightening, yet emotional movie that covers all its flaws brilliantly.