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.