31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 26: Altitude (2010)

 

Day 26 - Altitude (2010) 

Platform:

Borrowed from OverDrive.

Quote:

“We’ve been going down for twenty minutes. Tell me you’re not thinking the same thing I am [...] Where the hell’s the ground?”

Synopsis:

A group of friends is flying to a concert in a small private plane. While flying through a storm, they become lost as a creature of epic proportions stalks them through the sky.

Review:

Throughout most of this film, I couldn’t help singing in my head, “Cthulu in the sky keep on turning! I don’t know where I’ll be tomorroooooowww!” That’s the really basic premise, as you can tell by the cover. I was with this movie for a really long time despite one of the characters, Sal. I’ll talk more about him later. The setup of the film opens in the past as our main character, Sara is remembering the plane crash where her mom died. In spite of this, Sara is determined to be a pilot herself. I like the character they develop for Sara as a strong, independent woman. And honestly, for the most part, she never deviates from that. Sara owns her past by deciding to literally fly in the face of the thing that took her mother from her. Sara is going off to college, and she’s ready to leave everything behind and start her life anew. The plot really kicks off when she and her friends gather at the airfield to launch off on a final trip to a concert before going off to college. They set up some great character dynamics, as you have Sara, her friends Mel and Cory, and her pseudo boyfriend Bruce, with who she is trying to have one last adventure before they separate when she goes off to college. Bruce though is not quite ready to let Sara just walk out of his life, so despite having a major fear of flying, he’s agreed to go on the trip to try to win Sara over and convince her that they can make the relationship work. In addition to these characters, we have Mel’s boyfriend Sal. More on him later, but the major point here is that Cory is actually in love with Mel, and there’s a lot of tension in the love triangle with those three. The character relationships are all really working in this first part, despite my extreme irritation with Sal. Trouble comes, though, when they have to fly through a storm and get stuck climbing up at a steady pace before finally getting control back. While they are stuck in the storm though, a tentacled creature keeps messing with the plane, occasionally snagging one of the passengers. The confined space of the small plane is an excellent setting, and the tension of being trapped in the storm is a good parallel for the tension that’s growing among the group of “friends” although this film does fall prey to a horror trope of putting various teens together as a group of friends even though it seems unlikely that they would actually be such a tight group of friends in real life.

Ok, now this film works really well for the first three-fourths of the movie. This is in spite of the Sal character driving me absolutely nuts. I know way too many kids like this. He’s a complete tool who does the stupidest stuff you can imagine, all the while thinking he’s just the coolest guy on the face of the earth. When the plane goes to take off, he’s just howling and yelling THE ENTIRE TIME!!! Just constant noise for no reason. Everyone else is a little nervous, though Bruce is absolutely petrified, and then you have this asshat whooping it up and getting in everyone’s face. Throughout the film, he’s constantly just proving to be a bigger and bigger jerk. At one point, Sara is giving Bruce a parting graduation present which is a very rare comic book because Bruce is a collector. For absolutely no reason other than he’s annoyed that Bruce is absolutely terrified of being in the air, Sal snatches the comic from him and then rips out a page slowly while saying in a really childish mocking voice, “Oh no, what’s happening? Oh no, it’s ripping.” And everyone just sits back and watches him do this. No one says a thing to him. Even Sara, who just dropped some serious cash on this collector’s piece as a parting gift for the guy she’s essentially dumping. Sal is infuriating. 

However, it’s in the final moments of the film that everything really unravels. I won’t go into spoilers for this one, because some people might find it a decent watch despite the terrible ending. Some people might even like the horrible ending. For me though, the wild twist just completely ruins the good thing they had going. Especially when they really don’t give ANY explanation for why the ending happens the way that it does. I really want to go into this one because it’s so infuriatingly stupid. So if anyone does watch this one and they want to discuss it with me, let me know. Ultimately, I’m going to recommend this film because the majority of this film really works well.

Movie Count:

New = 17

Total = 26

OverDrive Breakdown: OverDrive is a digital platform that you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, comics, graphic novels, and movies. Unlike Hoopla, you can't download videos. They must be streamed. Also, you don't have the casting option. But both Hoopla and OverDrive can be accessed via web browser so you can watch on your computers. Another drawback is that you don't have unlimited access to videos, so if someone else has it borrowed, you do have to place a hold and wait for them to either return the material or for their loan to time out. Plus sides are the ease of borrowing. You have a set number of titles of any format (book, audio, video, etc.) that you can borrow from at any point in time (my library is set at ten), but once you return a title, you get that borrow back. So, unlike Hoopla, you don't have to wait for the next month to start borrowing again. Also, even if you have to place a hold, the longest loan period on a video is seven days, and then most videos expire 48 hours after you start watching, so the turnaround time is very quick. OverDrive will also email you notifications when your hold is ready.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 25: Horror House (2014)

Day 27 - Horror House (2014) 

Platform:

Borrowed from OverDrive.

Quote:

“I’d like to see Annie Hall do that.”

Synopsis:

A group of actors is cast in a horror movie filming at an old abandoned house. But when the cast starts getting murdered for real, it becomes a fight for survival. Who will be left standing when the film wraps?

Review:

Alright, I made this sound way cooler in the synopsis than it actually is in reality. This is my Indy submission for the year. I usually try to watch some independent horror films because indy horror often results in some entertaining stuff, even if the quality is not great (and sometimes BECAUSE the quality is not great). Unfortunately, this one is neither interesting nor entertaining.

I’ll start with the positives because there aren’t that many to discuss. First, the story concept is one that’s been done before, but this film…. Well, at least it had the good sense to pick a storyline that’s been successful in other movies. Secondly, I do like the relationship between the two main girls: Chloe, and Jazz. Chloe, the final girl in this one, does an ok job for an indy film, but Jazz is actually pretty fun and plays it well. Ok, that pretty much wraps up the good stuff.

I could probably go on quite a diatribe of all the things that this film does that make it a terrible movie. So, I’ll try to keep it brief and straight to the point. There’s no point in dwelling on dreck. Other than the two main girls, the rest of the acting is terrible. There are no next to no effects, and the ones that there are you can’t see because the lighting is so bad. It’s not just the kill scenes that become invisible either. The filmmakers like to use a blue light filter quite often, and when they do, you can’t see anything that isn’t stark white enough to reflect a bit of the blue light. The sound design is really bad as well. The clomping of shoes on wood floors is much louder than the dialogue, but they are more interesting to listen to for the most part, so I guess that works out. Then there’s the story. It makes no sense. You get that this director brings people to this house so he can make snuff films of him actually killing the girls. But he also brought two guys along. One of them he fires for being a complete dick. And the other… I’m just going to go ahead and spoil it because you need to stay far away from this movie. The other guy is even crazier than the director and the girls wind up having to deal with him too. Which is just redundant because we already had a psycho killer, so why bring in a second? 

Normally, with films that I give a don’t watch recommendation to, I can at least point to something that might be worth checking out. With this one, there’s no point. There is nothing redeeming really about this film.

Movie Count:

New = 16

Total = 25

OverDrive Breakdown: OverDrive is a digital platform that you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, comics, graphic novels, and movies. Unlike Hoopla, you can't download videos. They must be streamed. Also, you don't have the casting option. But both Hoopla and OverDrive can be accessed via web browser so you can watch on your computers. Another drawback is that you don't have unlimited access to videos, so if someone else has it borrowed, you do have to place a hold and wait for them to either return the material or for their loan to time out. Plus sides are the ease of borrowing. You have a set number of titles of any format (book, audio, video, etc.) that you can borrow from at any point in time (my library is set at ten), but once you return a title, you get that borrow back. So, unlike Hoopla, you don't have to wait for the next month to start borrowing again. Also, even if you have to place a hold, the longest loan period on a video is seven days, and then most videos expire 48 hours after you start watching, so the turnaround time is very quick. OverDrive will also email you notifications when your hold is ready.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 24: Poltergeist (2015)

Day 24 - Poltergeist (2015) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“They’re here.”

Synopsis:

A young girl becomes the center of a supernatural haunting, and her family will have to band together to drive out the spirits.

Review:

This remake of the original Spielberg film is a modern update to the classic. Let’s begin with some definitions. A reboot is when they take an old movie, and they tell a similar story but with a fresh take to make it more interesting and most likely hoping to spin-off a new version of the franchise (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and Child’s Play are all examples of this). A remake is when they redo the exact same movie, just updating it for a modern audience and updated effects (Nightmare on Elm Street, House on Haunted Hill, and The Haunting are good examples of this type). A soft-reboot is when they start fresh with a story to take it in new directions, but they don’t necessarily discount the previous films (I can’t think of a good horror example of this style, but The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton is the best example I can come up with for this style). Lastly, we have the newest trend of the requel (I might be making that term up, but I think it works), where they reboot the franchise with a new sequel that tells a very similar story to the original, but it’s actually a follow up to the original (Halloween H20, Halloween 2018, Jurassic World, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are all examples of this new trend). Now I go into this so that everyone understands what I mean by calling this a remake, and not a reboot. Yes, they are a different family. Yes, there is a different dynamic with the dad being out of work as opposed to working for the development company. BUT the story beats are all exactly the same. The only change that they make to the story are that instead of having Tangina, the psychic medium, come to help get their youngest daughter back, they have a TV host of a paranormal investigation show come to help them get their daughter back. Even that change though does little to nothing to make this a new take going in a different direction. 

So, the question is, “is this a good remake that improves on the original?” That’s the only reason to do a remake. It has to be an improvement on the original, or why even do it? Just watch the original if it still holds up. As a film, this is a pretty good movie. The effects are pretty good, and the cast does a good job of making us like them and feel their tension as they deal with the haunting. The major fault in this film is some lazy story telling. We learn that the dad was recently laid off from his job, the mom has been a stay-at-home-mom who is planning to get back to writing now that her kids are getting older, and for some reason this has prompted them to buy a new house. I’m assuming they needed something with lower house payments since they are going to be low on income, but if that’s the case, why buy? How could they buy? I can’t imagine the loan company that would give them a loan under those circumstances. It seems like you’d sell your old house and rent using the equity on the house you sold to help live off of until you get back on your feet. It doesn’t make much sense. Then there’s the haunting itself. In the original classic we learn that the reason behind the haunting is that the little girl has a powerful life force, and that the development they move into was built on an old burial ground, but that while the headstones were relocated, the bodies were left on the site. This causes those disturbed spirits to be drawn to the young girl. In this one though, the paranormal investigator just says that’s what he thinks is going on. We never really know for certain. It’s pretty lazy and really relies on knowledge of the original to understand which is not something you want to do in a remake that’s meant to be a replacement for the original. And if it’s meant to be a reboot, then they need to update the mythology and give us a new reason for what’s happening. 

I decided to go back and watch the original to see if it held up against the new version. If this new version really did look better, have better acting, told a cleaner story, then this would get a solid recommend. Unfortunately, for the new Poltergeist, the original actually was much more effective. There were creepy moments I had forgotten about from the original that really surprised me. Everything about the original works better, except maybe the acting. The acting feels very much like a movie of the ‘80s. Other than that though, I say go watch the original over this one. I will still give this one a recommend, if only mildly. It’s a good film, and is worth a look considering what I’m doing with this years reviews. I will say, this has inspired me for next year's list. I’ve already decided that next year, I’ll be doing originals vs reboot/remake/etc. I’m looking forward to next year’s challenge already!

Movie Count:

New = 15

Total = 24

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 23: Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

Day 23 - Insidious Chapter 2 (2013) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“No it’s not. This is nothing like being dead. I know. I have seen it. I’ve seen where these things exist. They want what you have: life.”

Synopsis:

All did not go as planned when Josh Lambert tried to retrieve his son Dalton from The Further. Something has followed them back. Now the Lamberts will have to face this new evil without Elise as it tries to tear them apart from the inside out.

Review:

There’s really no way to discuss this film without giving a lot away, so be forewarned of spoilers ahead.

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What I enjoy most about this one is the use of The Further. The way that Josh navigates events from the first Insidious from The Further, revealing that certain things that happened were actually the result of his actions now. Time is much more fluid in The Further, so Josh travels to various moments of his past to find his way back to his body, which is currently inhabited by the Black Bride who has been stalking his way through the other three films up to this moment. The Further in the first movie was dark and creepy, but in this film, they show a bit more how other spirits experience The Further.

Unfortunately, there is a lot about this movie that feels forced. The spirits in this one get a little too much time on screen. What’s worked well in the other films is when the entities are only seen in shadow, in the background, or in quick flashes. Many of the spirits in this one are shown for extended periods in a lot of light while actively engaging with the environment or the characters. As a result, they lose quite a bit of their creep factor. 

So, how does this one work when viewed as the final film in the series rather than the second? Let me start with discussing how the movies play when viewed in film order (Insidious, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and The Last Key). When watched in the order that they came out, we essentially get to see flashbacks to characters that we liked. We go from “these are interesting characters” to “Ah, so that’s why they do that”. And it feels exactly that way. Like it’s an answer to a question, which sometimes feels like overkill because they can be answering questions that we didn’t really ask to begin with. Then we have a lot of references to things that happened in the earlier released films that feel like they are forced in for the sake of the filmmakers saying “Hey remember these guys?” This leaves the prequel films feeling like they are just trying to provide ill-developed fan service. 

Now, when watched in-universe chronology, the movies take on a very different feel. I didn’t really completely force myself to forget or not think about what would happen later in the series. But I was able to put myself in a place where I just watched and focused on the film that was in front of me. By doing that, I had a completely different experience this time around. What feels like over-developing questions, we just have character development. For example, Specks has a line in Chapter 2 about all the ghosts that he, Tucker, and Elise have seen. In Chapter 2, we’ve really only seen them on ONE case. So, that line doesn’t feel the same when seen in release order as it does in chronological order where we’ve actually seen them take on multiple cases. The back and forth between Tucker and Specks that we see in the first Insidious about who has the more important job on the team is something that works much better when seen in the previous two films. Likewise, seeing the Black Bride prowling through every other film only to finally get the spotlight in the finale plays so much better than just seeing the Black Bride pop in and out of the prequels. It also makes Elise’s death by the Black Bride’s hand at the end of Insidious feel like much more of a blow, and her eventual return in Chapter 2 really does feel like a stand-up-and-cheer moment to see her come back, even if it’s as a spirit.

So where do I put this one? This is one of the weaker entries, but still pretty great, especially when viewed in chronological order for the film universe. So, I would rank them Insidious, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, and then Last Key as the order of the best films in the series. I also highly recommend that you watch them in chronological order (which would be Chapter 3, The Last Key, Insidious, and lastly Chapter 2) rather than release order.

Movie Count:

New = 14

Total = 23

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 22: Insidious (2010)

Day 22 - Insidious (2010) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“It’s not the house that’s haunted. It’s your son.”

Synopsis:

When their son, Dalton, falls into a coma shortly after moving into their new house, the Lamberts begin to experience a series of paranormal events. Renee Lambert, the mom, decides to call for help by enlisting the aid of Spectral Sightings, and Elise, Specks, and Tucker come to the rescue. This time, they face off against a fire-faced demon who is looking to use the Lamberts’ young son as a doorway into the physical world. Elise will have to help dad, Josh, journey into The Further to bring his son back safely.

Review:

This is my favorite of the Insidious films, and maybe that’s because it’s the first. Everything they did here was new and felt like a breath of fresh air in the horror realm. The way they used the build-up to the jump scares in most instances worked really well. I just wish they would have relied less on LOUD NOISES to reinforce the scares. It’s a bad precedent that starts here and gets worse in the other films. The thing is, they could have still delivered some fantastic scares, and they would actually have been creepier without the loud noise. The noise triggers a startle reflex which causes most people to jump in reaction. However, as I’ve said, I don’t startle easily, so jump scares rarely work on me. I find the quiet creepy atmosphere style much more effective for getting my chills on. This movie still delivers those, but often the loud blast of noise actually distracts from the creepiness.

That being said, I don’t have really any other complaints about this film. The performances all deliver, and they do a good job of creating a tense atmosphere as the haunting escalates. One of my favorite scares in the film is when Renee here’s a voice over the baby monitor of someone repeating angrily over and over “I want it.” When we had monitors up in the kid's rooms, that was something that I always secretly dreaded I would wind up experiencing. 

Let’s talk about how this plays viewing the film third in the timeline of events. I will be spoiling the very end of the film because it’s really important to discuss when looking at the events and their effectiveness when viewed in this order.

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Ok, here we go. I remember when they started going back to tell stories about what happened before the Lamberts haunting that it was a little weird and even a little heavy-handed the way that they worked in the Black Bride (more about that one in the next entry), and the lipstick demon. However, going in this order, when you see these flashes of these creatures stalking Elise, it really leads to some moments that feel like a payoff. Throughout Chapter 3 and Last Key, Elise sees and confronts the Black Bride, and we get glimpses of Lipstick Demon. So, by the time Elise shows up in this film, we are ready for her to confront these things that have been lurking in the background stalking her this whole time. Especially as we finally get an answer to the Black Bride’s threat that it will kill Elise as it’s angry with her for keeping it away from Josh Lambert when he was a kid. It also makes it all the more tragic when we learn that the Black Bride finally succeeds in killing Elise. 

This film is a regular viewing experience for me, multiple times a year, so it’s an easy recommend.

Movie Count:

New = 14

Total = 23

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 21: Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Day 21 - Insidious The Last Key (2018) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“She’s psychic; we’re sidekick.”

Synopsis:

Elise is must revisit her traumatic past when she gets a call for a case in her old childhood home. She’ll come face-to-face with the literal and figurative ghosts of her past as she drives out the evil she unwittingly let into her home when first discovering her abilities.

Review:

We’re back in the world of Insidious with the fourth film in the franchise. This one though takes a different approach by dropping the chapter names and going with a subtitle: The Last Key. Dropping the chapter gimmick is a good move here, what with the timeline fluctuation. I’m not sure about the actual subtitle of this one since it’s clearly not the last anything. It’s not the last story in the timeline. It’s not the last film in the series because they are working on Insidious 5. It’s not Elise’s last case because she still has to help the Lamberts. It’s an odd choice, which really only highlights the Big Bad in this film. Odd choice for sure.

Weird naming aside, this one is a solid entry in the series. There will be some mild spoilers in this review so that I can discuss the storytelling that makes this a unique entry to the franchise. So, if you want to keep the mystery, stop reading now.

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Ok, moving on. I’m not a big fan of the creature in this one. They call him Key-Face, which is another weird naming move on their part because the keys are on his fingers. The design also is only so-so with this guy. This time we are dealing with an actual demon, not just a malevolent spirit like in Chapter 3. The best thing about this demon is that it does have some cool powers with being able to lock away voices and trap souls using its key fingers. He’s also kind of weird to reconcile because they have him being way more powerful than Elise, which makes sense because he’s a demon and not a human spirit, but then a human spirit comes and kicks his ass like nothing… So is it Rock, Paper, Scissors? Living human beats dead human, demon beats living human, and dead human beats demon? It felt very strange. 

That’s the biggest problem I have with the film, though. I like getting to see more about Elise’s past, and it’s interesting to see how warm and loving she is given what her home life was like back then. I like how they also set up her nieces who have similar abilities to hers so that going forward in the timeline, they can keep a character like her around without having to worry about Lynn Shay getting too old to keep doing the part. Not to mention other complications that come up in the other films that would make it difficult to keep her around in a major capacity.

Now for the really spoilery part. What I appreciate most about this particular entry, and what I think really makes it unique, is the additional villain(s) they include. Apparently, the creature doesn’t just come after the living to take their souls, it also corrupts people to make them do horrible things. In this entry, there are real-world villains that are kidnapping and torturing teenage girls, which later Key-Face takes for his own. I loved the twist that some of the things Elise saw weren’t actually ghosts, but she thinks they are because why else would these people just be seemingly hiding out in the house like they do. It was a twist that I didn’t see coming, and I can usually pick those out way in advance, so nicely done.

For me, even though we get more Tucker and Specks, which I really enjoy, this is the weakest entry in the franchise. However, I still give this one a recommendation for being a little different swatch of fabric in the tapestry of the Insidious universe, and it still delivers, just not as well as the other movies.

Movie Count:

New = 14

Total = 21

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.

31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 20 Insidious Chapter 3 (2015)

Day 20 - Insidious Chapter 3 (2015) 

Platform:

Borrowed disc from Clermont County Public Library.

Quote:

“You have to be very careful. If you call out to one of the dead, all of them can hear you.”

Synopsis:

Elise is a powerful psychic who has the ability to see spirits and to travel into a spirit realm she calls The Further. But after the death of her husband, Elise has shut herself off from her abilities. When a young woman accidentally invites a malevolent spirit to make contact while trying to reach out to her deceased mother, Elise will have to tap into her powers to drive out the evil and save the girl from a fate worse than death.

Review:

I’ll start by showing my hand a little to say that I am a fan of the Insidious series. As I’ve mentioned before, haunted houses and ghost stories are my jam. Jams Wan and Blumhouse do a great job of creating atmospheric pieces that deliver the chills and scares. All of these films have some very unsettling moments that give me goosebumps.

Now, I’ve seen all of these films multiple times (don’t own any yet, but that’s something that I plan to change at some point). I’ve even done a marathon watch of all the films, one after another. This time though, I decided to approach them a little differently to see how they play. For this viewing, I’m watching them in movie universe chronological order. So, that would be then Chapter 3, The Last Key (fourth film), Insidious, and finally Chapter 2. I’m very curious how this order will read for me as I see Elise’s full story play out, rather than jumping around in time. 

So, let’s get into it. Chapter 3 still starts off with Elise later in life, having recently lost her husband of many years. So, there’s potential to go back further into Elise’s past to tell more stories with her. Her character is awesome also. I love how open and loving of a character she is, even here going through her mourning and swearing off any more readings, but still offering to do one small dive for this young girl, Quinn, who is desperate to reach out to her departed mother. Elise clearly sees the similar grief the girl is going through and decides to do what she can to help her out. It doesn’t go so well, and Elise sits out a lot of the film before finally deciding that she can’t just keep feeling sorry for her loss and live in fear of what she might find in The Further when people need her help. This element is one that plays much differently watching this as the first segment of the story. On release order, you’ve already gotten to know Elise, and watching her sit back and have to go through this hero’s journey as she refuses the initial call is a little awkward when you’ve already seen her at her peak. But with this being the entry point, it works much better as an introduction to Elise’s character.

We also get to see the formation of Spectral Sightings as Elise meets paranormal investigators Specks and Tucker. The three of them have great chemistry and I enjoy seeing Elise take on the motherly role as she reigns in the two ghost hunters, and helps to give them direction (metaphorically and literally). 

The spirit in this one is pretty effective in its design and the way that the creature operates. Quite often “The Man Who Can’t Breathe”, as he’s called, just appears out of nowhere, and then just lingers in the background. He has a great hurry-up-and-wait modus operandi that I really appreciate. They make it even more effective by taking away Quinn’s mobility (no spoilers, so check it out if you want to see what happens; one of the most shocking moments in the film) which makes it nearly impossible for her to escape and creates a feeling of being trapped. What doesn’t work for me here, is the backstory of the “Man Who Can’t Breathe”. It really makes no sense why this old man with a breathing mask is so bent on gathering the souls of these young girls to be his playthings. And how would someone like this have been able to build a strong enough spiritual presence to affect the physical world the way that it does? Some of the other creatures that you come across in the other films, it’s very clear how they could be so powerful, but this guy? They don’t ever really go into it. Another benefit of watching in this order though, he’s the first one you meet, so you may not be asking those kinds of questions at this point. 

Despite these issues, this is one of my favorite entries in the series. I love getting to see Spectral Sightings coming together, and getting to see Elise go on her hero’s journey is a lot of fun. Not to mention, this film does some great stuff with discussing grief and how to go on when and keep living your life when you lose someone. This also has some of the best creep-out moments with “The Man Who Can’t Breathe”. This is a definite recommend for me. The real question now is, how will this play out as I watch the rest of the films in this order? Stick around to find out!

Movie Count:

New = 14

Total = 20

DVD/Blu-Ray Borrow Breakdown: I'm sure this feature is not new to anyone really, but I'll still point out some of the benefits and drawbacks. Let's start with the benefits. Most of the digital titles you find on the Hoopla and OverDrive platforms are going to be a few years old or going to be fairly obscure titles. New release, major motion pictures are going to take a while before they relinquish streaming rights to general public services like these. But the library regularly purchases physical copies of new releases for patrons to borrow. Libraries also offer hold services so that even if your library's copies have all been checked out, you can go ahead and put in a request to be put on a waiting list so that you hold your place in line to borrow that title when it's ready for you. Interlibrary loans also allow you to check out books and movies even if your local library branch doesn't carry the title, so your options are pretty much limitless as long as you have the patience to wait for delivery. The drawbacks to this service are that you do have to pay close attention to due dates. Videos usually have a higher late fee than books, and you have them for a shorter loan period (usually 7 days). One big leg up on borrowing physical copies that the digital platforms have, is that you don't have to worry about late fees because the titles automatically return when your loan period expires. However, if you know that the movie you want is very popular, and you want a little more time with it, you could always shell out the extra $1 to keep it another day. Another drawback is that you are using shared materials. That means that you are at the mercy of the treatment that other patrons apply to the material. Sometimes you get a DVD or Blu-ray that could be scratched (I know that Blu-ray's are supposed to be nearly unscratchable, but it seems that some people have taken that as a personal challenge), or dirty to the point that it skips, or is even unwatchable.