Insidious: Chapter 3

Why did reclusive clairvoyant Elise Rainer step into the spooky spotlight and how did she meet that goofy ghostbusting duo? All is revealed in series writer-turned-first-time-director Leigh Whannell's prequel taking place a few years before the Lambert haunting of 2010's original Insidious. Here, Elise (once more played with ghoulish gusto by Lin Shaye) comes out of terrified retirement to save a grieving teen (Stefanie Scott) from an evil entity which has attached itself after she tried to contact her dead mother. The menacing excitement and solid scares stick to genre basics in Whannell's confident chiller, whether they're emanating from under the bed, in the closet or above cracked ceilings. As a bonus, Whannell gives us The Shining-style atmospheres of the "Further's" limbo landscapes and craftily revitalises that over-used cliché, the sudden car crash. It's a better than expected creep-fest, especially considering the batting averages for the third instalment in any franchise.