FILM-INSIDIOUS 3 Director of the horror movie 'Insidious: Chapter 3' reveals secrets to terrifying his audience

Record ID: 150124

  • Title: FILM-INSIDIOUS 3 Director of the horror movie 'Insidious: Chapter 3' reveals secrets to terrifying his audience
  • Date: 5th June 2015
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 27, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF 'INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3', LEIGH WHANNELL, SAYING: "There was a time when I would almost method write. That's what I used to call it - where I would write a horror film at 3 o'clock in the morning alone and actually try and scare myself and put that into the script."
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADKWGJ63PJPDBK2SZAKMTMW6PY
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Writer and director Leigh Whannell sat down in London recently ahead of the release of his latest film, 'Insidious: Chapter 3'.
    Whannell is a heavyweight in the horror movie world having co-created and written the 'Insidious' movie series as well as the hugely successful 'Saw' movie franchise.
    'Insidious: Chapter 3' acts as a prequel to the first two 'Insidious' movie releases, set years before the haunting of the Lambert family and Elise's battles with spirits from The Further, in 'Insidious' and 'Insidious: Chapter 2'.
    In the prequel, aspiring actress Quinn Brenner, played by Stefanie Scott, has a feeling that her late mother is trying to contact her and seeks the help of a psychic, unleashing a demonic spirit.
    For Whannell, it was important to juxtapose the horror with a real life relatable family.
    "I didn't want heightened characters or stock characters," Whannell told Reuters. "You know horror films have been accused in the past of having these cardboard cutout characters that are really just there to die. And you know, some of them are kind of annoying so you really can't wait until they die, you're like I hope that cheerleader gets her head cut off soon."
    Known for his work in the horror genre, the Australian is clearly aware of the necessary ingredients for a terrifying flick. "You learn as you go although there's no equation for me. Like I haven't boiled it down to a mathematical formula where I'm like A plus B equals 'aaaah'."
    He explained that he goes to extreme lengths to achieve the necessary scare factor in his scripts. "There was a time when I would almost method write. That's what I used to call it - where I would write a horror film at 3 o'clock in the morning alone and actually try and scare myself and put that into the script," he said.
    Although Whannell has been writing horror movies for years, 'Insidious 3' marks his directorial debut. He sought the advice of William Friedkin, the director of 'The Exorcist'.
    "He gave me a few pieces of advice. He talked about actually scaring the actors for real and getting them to the place where they're actually terrified rather than faking being terrified. Maybe, you know, he would use a gun or a horn to surprise them in the middle of a take, and keeping them off guard, and I thought that was really smart because having been an actor myself it's a hard thing to stand in a room that's filled with lights and people and pretend that you're alone in a room being stalked by somebody."
    'Insidious: Chapter 3' is released in UK cinemas on June 5.
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