The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Marking the third – and shall we dare say final? – instalment to the low-budgeted haunted-house horror film series franchise, Insidious: Chapter 3  serves as a prequel to the series and makes for an interesting watch, but ultimately isn’t the most imaginative or creative entry of the series.

The story takes place years before the Lambert family haunting and this time it lends its focus on Elise Rainier (Shaye); a former psychic who has decided to give up her line of work after the death of her husband and encountering an evil female spirit that seems to want her dead.

Spending most of her days in solitude, Elise refuses to help anyone who wishes to contact the dead. However, when seventeen-year-old Quinn Brenner (Scott) turns up on her doorstep claiming that her deceased mother is trying to contact her, Elise is resistant but eventually agrees to help. Unfortunately, the session doesn’t quite go according to plan and Elise soon discovers that there is an evil entity – not Quinn’s mother unfortunately – out there trying to grab the young girl’s attention. 

Insidious Chapter 3 marks Leigh Whannell’s first outing as a director – he takes over the reins from James Wan who directed the first two films – and although, clichéd in parts, he manages to create a relatively watchable and genuinely creepy horror film that, unless you’re made of steel, will make you think twice before entering a dark room.

The film’s focus rests with the series’ heroic psychic, played by the always-reliable Lin Shaye, who finally gets her chance to take centre stage and shine with an intriguing look inside the mind of the medium, and a clever setup to what awaits her down the line. Despite her engaging turn, she and the rest of the cast are weighed down with some rather naff dialogue.

The film’s clever camera work inside the pitch-black rooms and deafening silences are especially absorbing. However, it never really adds up to much in the end, leaving this chapter of the ghost-loving series with and a mediocre conclusion.