Insidious: Chapter 3 2015

Scott Foundas, Variety: Chief among things that go bump in the night in "Insidious: Chapter 3" is the movie itself - a thuddingly dull prequel to James Wan's very enjoyable (and highly profitable) demonic-possession horror franchise. Read more

Katie Rife, AV Club: Surprisingly thematically rich for the third installment of a horror franchise. Read more

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: "Insidious: Chapter 3" is almost more a spoof of a classic like "The Exorcist" than it is an homage. It's not scary horror, it's silly horror, and the audience is in on the joke. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Punctuated by intermittent, bogus jump-scares, the plot thickens into opacity. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The quiet stretches actually serve their purpose here, creating a sense of intimacy with the characters as opposed to simply marking time between the shocks. Read more

Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly: Insidious Chapter 3 is the worst kind of sequel: Not terrible, but also cartoonishly unnecessary. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: Insidious: Chapter 3 offers a relatable young protagonist and several key supporting players from the prior films in a nimble setup to the series. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: It stands well on its own as a jumpy spookfest. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: You need more than a few sudden noises and scary shocks to make a good horror movie. But "Insidious: Chapter Three" is at least an OK horror movie. Read more

Katherine Pushkar, New York Daily News: "I was scared at least 10 times," I heard someone say upon leaving the theater. Not bad. Read more

Andy Webster, New York Times: Mr. Whannell wisely retains the series' secret weapon, Ms. Shaye, a seasoned performer of range, moxie and limitless charm. Read more

Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Inquirer: Writer-directors Wan and Whannell are best known for their grisly Saw movies, but they seem to prefer the classic lines of old-school horror. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: They say the third time's the charm. Not with the Insidious series, it isn't. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: I leapt out of my seat and grabbed the arm of the critic sitting next to me so often (and he did the same, although he shall remain nameless) that you'd think we'd never seen a horror movie before. Read more

Michael Ordona, San Francisco Chronicle: "Insidious: Chapter 3" is simply not scary. Not a bit, not a whit. Except that the audience will be terrified of the next stabbing of their eardrums, at generally predictable intervals. Read more

Lenika Cruz, The Atlantic: As middling, somewhat serviceable horror fare, it delivers its own share of jump scares, but whatever visceral effect it might have had wears off the instant the credits begin to roll. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: The result is a warm-hearted frightening, about love and loss and, yes, next chapters. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This prequel to the shriek hell, directed and scripted by series writer/actor Leigh Whannell, manages to avoid the Curse of the Triple Cash Grab. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Pretty much what you'd expect, from the shrieking musical riff under the main titles onward, but as a vehicle for veteran character actress Lin Shaye, it's a blast. Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: Don't expect any spills or chills: this is more insipid than insidious. Read more

Brian Truitt, USA Today: A prequel story that puts the spotlight squarely on its leading lady and aims to be more heartfelt than horrifying. Read more

Simon Abrams, Village Voice: Tepid ghost story Insidious: Chapter 3 tries and fails to emphasize character-driven drama over cheap, jump-scare-intensive thrills. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: You sort of want to give the movie a pass. But given its distinguished forebears, Insidious: Chapter 3 doesn't quite live up to expectations. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The "Insidious" franchise, after three attempts to exorcise its real demons, still can't seem to shake what really haunts it: the ghost of B-movies past. Read more