HOLLYWOOD—Scares during the summer months are quite rare at the box-office, but that won’t stop the third chapter (likely the last) in the “Insidious” saga, “Insidious: Chapter 3.” This installment is a prequel, which sheds a bit of light for the audience on how psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) manifested her ability to communicate with the dead to help a family in dire need.

Shaye is a notable face for the franchise having appeared in both flicks prior to the third installment. Those who saw the previous installment knows that Elise died at the end of the first movie, but played a notable role in the movie’s sequel. This third chapter looks to wrap lose ends by explaining to the audience precisely where the origin of this evil came from.

For those looking to see Patrick Wilson or Rose Byrne to reprise their roles will be disappointed. Stepping in to fill their shoes are Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott who portray father and daughter duo Sean Brenner and Quinn Brenner. Quinn and her father have just moved into a new house, and her attempt to communicate with her dead mother opens the door for an evil that refuses to let go.

Director James Wan hands off directing duties to his partner in crime, Leigh Whannell. Whannell was responsible for crafting the script for both predecessors as well as this third outing. Wan serves as producer on this third chapter. While I thought “Insidious” was a frightfully good tale, its sequel faltered in my opinion; the movie just didn’t seem to know what direction it wanted to go into.

Prequels can be quite tricky because the audience has an idea of how the movie will end to some degree, but this movie is quite the ride from start to finish. Not only does the audience become entangled to the characters that we come to care about, we are delivered multiple surprises and jolts that will leave one on the edge of his or her seat.

The scares are carefully mapped out, even those teases that have been seen in the trailer and TV spots are unable to prepare the audience for the shockers that will come there way. Scott wields a remarkable amount of charisma and innocence into our protagonist who the audience will indeed root for.

“Insidious: Chapter 3” proves something that has become a common theme in horror: it’s not the villain that is always scary; it’s sometimes the innocence of a child that haunts the audience even more.