Name : Guy Lodge / Alias : Variety
At best, the pic serves as a showy grab-bag of thriller varieties for which the helmer demonstrates equal aptitude; at worst, it points to a narrative attention span that hasn't yet evolved from his award-winning short film work.

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

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

Name : Bilge Ebiri / Alias : 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.

Name : Peter Keough / Alias : Boston Globe
Punctuated by intermittent, bogus jump-scares, the plot thickens into opacity.

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

Name : Scott Foundas / Alias : 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.

Name : Peter Howell / Alias : 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.

Name : Michael O'Sullivan / Alias : 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.

Name : Katie Rife / Alias : AV Club
Surprisingly thematically rich for the third installment of a horror franchise.

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

Name : Christy Lemire / Alias : 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.

Name : Alonso Duralde / Alias : 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.

Name : Justin Lowe / Alias : 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.

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

Name : Kerry Lengel / Alias : 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.

Name : Stephen Whitty / Alias : 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.

Name : Gary Thompson / Alias : 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.

Name : Michael Ordona / Alias : 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.

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

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

Name : Ben Sachs / Alias : 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.

Name : Gary Goldstein / Alias : Los Angeles Times
It stands well on its own as a jumpy spookfest.

Name : Katharine Pushkar / Alias : New York Daily News
"I was scared at least 10 times," I heard someone say upon leaving the theater. Not bad.