"Insidious: Chapter 3" Director Now Thrills with "The Invisible Man"

When the opportunity to direct The Invisible Man crash-landed into Leigh Whannell’s life, he didn’t know it was a chance to reimagine a new iteration of one of Universal Pictures’ Monsters -- and re-visualize the invisible.

(Watch the film’s new spot at https://youtu.be/2SPXagJKPMs)

While H.G. Wells’ original character was a scientist who devolved into madness, Whannell was more interested in the objects of the villain’s obsession. The focus, it occurred to him, should be inverted. “If you were making an Invisible Man movie, you would make it from the point of view of his victim. Say a woman who escapes from her abusive partner in the middle of the night and then finds out that he’s killed himself but doesn’t quite believe it, especially when mysterious things start happening.”

REEL DEAL: "Insidious: Chapter 3" Breaks Records for Biggest Horror Opening in PH‏

Columbia Pictures' “Insidious: Chapter 3” gave the Philippine box-office a good scare as it grossed a spooky P65-million in only three days. This enabled it to take out “San Andreas” from the No. 1 spot (P58-million in 5 days) and break the record of last year's “Annabelle” (P53-M) for the biggest opening weekend ever for a horror film.

This was announced today by a spokesman of Columbia Pictures which distributed the film locally.

“Insidious: Chapter 3” is the new movie in the terrifying horror series, written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. The film is set years before the haunting of the Lambert family, and the psychic Elise’s (Lin Shaye) battles with spirits from The Further, in “Insidious” and “Insidious: Chapter 2.”

The film frightened off two more significant records along the way: Biggest single-day gross ever for a horror title achieved on Saturday, June 6 at P23.9 million, beating “Annabelle's” P15.7 million by 52 percent; and all-time highest horror opening day at P20-million on Friday, June 5, going over and beyond previous record-holder “The Conjuring's” P9-million by 118 percent.

REEL DEAL:

One of Hollywood’s most promising young talents, Stefanie Scott plays the lead in Columbia Pictures' “Insidious: Chapter 3” as teenaged aspiring actress Quinn Brenner who senses that her late mother is trying to contact her, and seeks out a gifted psychic – Elise (Lin Shaye).

Director-screenwriter Leigh Whannell comments, “In writing the character of Quinn, I tried to create a teenage girl in an honest way. I feel that they tend to be portrayed a certain way in films, one that doesn’t honestly reflect their goals and concerns. Quinn and Elise mirror each other in how they are dealing with loss at a turning point in their lives, and it was important to me that audiences connect with both of them.”

Scott found her director’s attention to emotional detail most welcome. “In the story, Quinn has kept a diary,” the actress explains. “Leigh gave me a blank diary – and a huge box of stuff to decorate it with: jewels, markers, paint. I decorated the cover – and then I wrote in the journal every day as Quinn, about what she’s going through with losing her mother. Leigh also gave me a book about dealing with that kind of loss, which is how I truly started to get an understanding of what it must be like.”

REEL DEAL: "Insidious: Chapter 3" Keeps Horror Tradition Alive‏

The description “very dark and weird” has been part and parcel of the enduring shivery appeal of the Insidious movies, evoking dread and terror – sometimes explainable for the characters, sometimes not. This could not have been truer in the new sequel, “Insidious: Chapter 3” from Columbia Pictures.

Teen cast member Stefanie Scott remarks, “It’s the fear of the unknown that works on you – like when you hear a noise and think, ‘Huh, that’s nothing.’ But in these movies, it is...something.”

Director and screenwriter Leigh Whannell adds, “It’s your own imagination that can start freaking you out right away; a floorboard creaking can set you off. In the Insidious movies, we build on that and tease the audience a little.

REEL DEAL: Dermot Mulroney Stars in His First Horror Film, "Insidious: Chapter 3"‏

Talented actor Dermot Mulroney (“August: Osage County,” “My Bestfriend's Wedding”) plays widowed father Sean who struggles to hold his family together amid a supernatural disturbance in Columbia Pictures' horror-thriller “Insidious: Chapter 3.”

“Sean is a father that has lost his wife to disease and who is trying to keep his kids in order and get through the day,” Mulroney describes his character. “So he is this worried dad that is also a hard-working blue-collar type of guy that lives in an apartment. And it’s hard for him to keep up with the day-to-day responsibilities of his home because of the loss his family is suffering.”

“Insidious: Chapter 3” is the new movie in the terrifying horror series, written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. The film is set years before the haunting of the Lambert family, and the psychic Elise’s battles with spirits from The Further, in “Insidious” and “Insidious: Chapter 2.”

REEL DEAL: “INSIDIOUS” Co-Creator Now Directs “CHAPTER 3”

After penning the scripts for “Insidious” and “Insidious: Chapter 2,” Leigh Whannell takes the reins on “Insidious: Chapter 3” by stepping in for co-creator James Wan and directing the new film.

Producer Oren Peli says, “Leigh understands the world of Insidious so well and also sees all sorts of possibilities for `The Further' and for the characters grappling with it, all of which made him the perfect choice to direct the new chapter.

Producer Jason Blum elaborates, “The people who created a movie make the best sequels – which I don’t talk about with them until after they’ve made the first movie, so that it isn’t compromised – and carry the storytelling forward. When Leigh said, ‘I have an idea for a new movie,’ that was ideal. We wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for Leigh to get to do what he wanted to do in taking the director’s chair, because we all felt he should be the next director for these stories.”

REEL DEAL: Third Trailer For "INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3” Is Here

The third trailer of Columbia Pictures' new supernatural thriller "Insidious: Chapter 3” is now online and may be viewed here at https://youtu.be/jtUU4qDo4T0. The film is the latest instalment in the terrifying horror series written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell.

Produced by Oren Peli (“Paranormal Activity”), James Wan (“The Conjuring”) and Whannell, “Insidious: Chapter 3” stars Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell.

REEL DEAL: “INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3” Conjures First Trailer

Columbia Pictures has just unveiled the teaser trailer of its upcoming supernatural thriller, "Insidious: Chapter 3,” the newest instalment in the terrifying horror series is written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell.

The trailer may be viewed here at http://youtu.be/ZUFFCV99bDs.

Produced by Oren Peli (“Paranormal Activity”), James Wan (“The Conjuring”) and Whannell, “Insidious: Chapter 3” stars Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell.

This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

Opening soon across the Philippines on May 2015, “Insidious: Chapter 3” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.