Film Review: Insidious Chapter 3 doesn't leave too many chills

Film: Insidious Chapter 3
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Lin Shaye, Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney
Rating: **1/2

What's it about: Having lost her mother, Quinn Brenner feels overwhelmed. Her father Sean is a mess. He asks her to "step up" and "help him out ", but she misses her mother terribly and can't cope. She seeks out psychic Elise Rainier and asks her to help connect with her departed mother.

Elise, who is in self-imposed retirement, reluctantly helps Quinn but is unable to contact the latter's mother. Instead, something evil makes contact.
Days later, Quinn has an accident and has a near-death experience. Her legs fractured, she's bed-ridden and is making her peace with her situation when she's violently attacked by something she can't see. The entity, at first, is relatively harmless, but soon starts getting more malevolent.
Desperate, her father approaches Elise for a solution. Will she be able to help?

What's hot: The few genuine jump-in-your-seat scares are there, but they come few and far between. Despite the mostly predictable plot, the film manages to have a few fan-pleasing moments. And you gotta love Lin Shaye's earnestness through it all.

What's not: For one, Dermot Mulroney's strikes you immediately as an awkward parent. You get that whole 'I didn't sign up for this' vibe for half the film. He's written in such a way that you barely ever sympathise with the man's situation. Some of his lines make you want to slap some parental sense into him. By the time you begin to root for the guy, the damage is already done. Quinn works well as eye candy and seems sincere enough, but has precious little to do. The tar-like footprints get more screen time than any of the cast members. Whannell wastes too much time establishing the premise when you aren't going to care for the Brenners after this scary business is done. This film is a prequel despite the numbering and the Lamberts, who we meet in the first two films are the actual story. And don't even get me started on the film's ending.

What to do: Go for this only if you're a fan of the franchise. You won't much care about it otherwise. You will end up chuckling, rather than being very afraid.