Is Insidious: Chapter 3 a Sequel or a Prequel?

This weekend, the third installment of the Insidious series will hit theaters.

Despite the “3” in the title though, the movie is not in fact a continuation of the story after Insidious: Chapter 2. Instead, it will be a prequel set before the events of the original film.

What is it about?

Connecting the trilogy will be the character of Elise Rainier, the psychic woman played by Lin Shaye. Elise appeared in both of the previous movies, although she technically died during the events of the first one. Unlike her appearances in the flashback sequences of Chapter 2 though, the third film will likely not have many (if any) connections to the Lambert family.

Instead, Elise will be using her psychic abilities to help a teenage girl named Quinn Brenner, who is being targeted by a demonic entity from the Further.

Are any other characters returning?

Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell will also be back as Tucker and Specs. Weirdly enough, Whannell will also be directing this film, taking over from James Wan, who helmed both of the previous.

Will we be seeing more of the Further?

Definitely. The trailer for the film reveals that Elise will indeed be exploring more of the Further.

“I’m going to have to go to where it lives,” she says, before entering through giant red doors. She’ll be hunting for a denizen of the Further called the Wheezing Demon, also known as the “The Man Who Can’t Breathe.”