Having unfortunately terminated fan-favourite psychic Lin Shaye in the previous film, Chapter 3 goes the prequel route to bring her to the fore, and for the first few minutes there is a promising sense that this entry in the franchise might go a slightly more serious and grounded route. However, this quickly turns into a rather routine and dreary plodder, and Blumhouse's cheap-to-maximise-profits approach makes the film look rather threadbare. It is clear from the uncertain and unsustained tone and focus that the script needed more work, especially once the final act descends into narrative disarray. Lin Shaye embues her role with some dignity and sympathy (for the most part), but this is not Dermot Mulroney's best work. One particular scene - where the injured and immobilised girl is menaced in her own bedroom - could be truly terrifying if fully realised and sustained, but the compromise for a PG-13 audience neuters it. The rather crude looping back to the first film at the end wraps up the trilogy, and on the evidence of Chapter 3, that it where the franchise should rest.
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