Insidious Film Analysis

Atop the list of the most impressive, satisfying haunted house movies created in the last decade is Insidious (although the sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2, essentially tainted it). The back-to-back stories set forth in the Insidious films focus on the Lambert family and their connection to the spirit world, which they reluctantly navigate through with the help of a team of paranormal investigators.

And, like the vast majority of successful horror films, they couldn’t stop with just one.

Director James Wan takes a break from the series, giving way to Leigh Whannell (feature length debut) – who also happens to be the writer and creative mastermind of all three Insidious films (not to mention Saw). In this third installment, dubbed, Insidious:

Yeah, so the third chapter actually takes place first – yet it’s called Chapter 3. Figure that out, why don’t you. Clearly the marketing people in charge of this flick could honestly care less whether or not moviegoers understand the continuity logistics of this franchise – proving once more that the only thing that warms studio execs late at night is the touch of the all-mighty dollar.

Thankfully, the title of this production has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the film or the story, itself. Still, this film was not without an uphill battle prior to its announcement. After all, the third endeavor is typically where the wheels completely fall off the bus for horror sequels. Look no further than Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Friday the 13th Part III, or the laughable Poltergeist III.

In this third chapter, a slew of new characters are introduced, including the Brenner family. The film focuses primarily on Quinn, portrayed by Disney A.N.T. Farm alum, Stefanie Scott. While it’s clearly not uncommon for young actors and actresses to catch their first big feature length break (she’s been in minor roles in the past) via a horror movie, it’s difficult to buy into Scott as a “scream queen.” In fact, it’s hard to buy into any potential victim that’s forced to contend with two broken legs for the near entirety of the