Follow Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye) as she explores deeper into The Further as never before in this thrilling new installment in the Insidious franchise with Chapter 3, written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell.

The film is set years before the haunting of the Lambert family, and Elise’s battles with spirits from that parallel world known as The Further. Now we are following the horrifying experience of Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) a teenaged aspiring actress as she is haunted by an evil spirit who she once thought to be the ghost of her deceased mother but soon learned that she was horrifyingly mistaken. Quinn seeks out gifted psychic Elise in an attempt to contact her mother but tragedy in Elise’s past lets her reluctant to use her abilities. It's not after the young girl is attacked in her own room by a malevolent entity that Quinn’s father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) pleads Elise once again for her help.

Writer and first time director Leigh Whannel talks about how he had this story in mind for quite some time, “I started to devise an origin story, a prequel set a few years before the first movie wherein concepts central to Insidious take shape, and where we could explore Elise’s background. Once I started writing this, I fell in love with the piece.” And yes, although Quinn Brenner is the victim of a vicious demon, the movie’s heroin and main character this time is the evil fighting psychic Elise Reiner, who portrays the character with a very much needed sensibility to express the emotions of fear while also having the strength to face and overcome such fears.

Producer Jason Blum, responsible for bringing us the first two chapters as well talks about Lin Shaye’s ability in playing such a complex character, “ When you see Lin playing Elise on-screen, you believe that she’s able to communicate with demons and ghosts. In most movies about the paranormal, it’s hard to make the character of the expert feel credible, but Lin is terrific at doing just that.”

But with this film exploring the life of Elise prior to the Haunting of the Lamberts, it does not mean that it strays away from its horror roots and delivers quite a few scares throughout the movie. This new storyline has much to offer the franchise’s faithful viewers while inviting an audience to come to the saga fresh. People can see this movie having seen neither of the previous chapters and they will understand what the characters here go through. “My approach on this film was to take it back to the realistic horror tone of the first movie, where you’re with the family who don’t know what’s happening to them and can’t imagine what’s to come,” explains Whannell.

It seems they brought the right man for the job. In order to maintain the style and tone of the previous two, co-creator Leigh Whannel takes the director’s chair for the first time delivering an intense horror movie his first time out. Producer Jason Blum explains how for him it was important to get someone who knows the character’s back and forth. “The people who created the movie make the best sequels, which I don’t talk about with them until after they’ve made the first movie, so that isn’t compromised- and carry the storyline forward. When Leigh said: I have an idea for a new movie, that was ideal.”

And it was a great decision on the part of Mr. Blum since Insidious: Chapter 3 differs very little with it’s predecessors delivering good build up tension and a genuine release of fear at the end. Whannell explains, “I’ve had a great education, this came from sitting behind James and watching him direct, and seeing what he does in the cutting room, with music, with all of it.” Although James Wan was not the only inspiration behind Whannells approach to directing, he told us that he managed to talk and get advice from none other than veteran director William Friedkin, responsible for probably the most horrifying movie of all times The Exorcist. He mentioned that during the conversation, Friedkin advised that the reason the actor’s reaction in The Exorcist looked so realistic was because he sacred them for real on set. Leigh explained that although he did not follow Friedkin’s advice to the letter, he came with his own way to torture his cast to prepare them for the scenes. Stefanie Scott recalls, “Leigh walked me into a closet, he made me listen to death-metal music for thirty minutes, in the dark. He had a guard posted outside the door, and he would rush in and check my headphones to make sure I hadn’t turned down the volume. It was awful but by the time I did the scene, I was ready.”

And it seems to have worked since Stefanie’s Scott’s debut in the horror genre delivers a well-grounded performance becoming one of the main elements that holds the whole movie together. Over all, with the new cast, new story and new approach, Insidious: Chapter 3 is sure to deliver enough scares to the fans for them to have fun and not leave theaters disappointed. Be sure not to miss it.

Insidious: Chapter 3 in theaters June 5.