Lee Warnell's directorial debut and the first horror film in the film career Stephanie Scott, prequel two previous films, the film "Astral 3" comments and reviews received mixed. In the genre of horror in the history of the film industry, a great many films were shot. All of them pursued one single goal - to scare the viewer as much as possible. Lee Wonnel's project coped with the task mediocrely, the movie is not scary to watch due to the unplanned humor that fits into the outline, which transforms the picture not for the better.
Just prequel
Before analyzing the Astral 3 horror (reviews, plot, casting, etc.), it should be remembered that the first two parts were devoted to the ongoing misadventures of the Lambert family, which, by the will of fate, had to go through almost all circles of hell. A lifesaver for the heroes of previous paintings was the trouble-free female psychic Alice, but even she could not resist the ghostly old woman, she was killed. The popularity of the franchise remained quite high, but it was not possible to resurrect such a significant character. And then the creators decided to shoot the Astral 3 prequel, which critics dubbed as the story of the emergence and development of Aliceâs supernatural gift.
Plot
Once, a very young girl, Queen Brenner (Stephanie Scott), comes to psychic Alice (Lin Shay), who has left active practice, with a request to get in touch with her dead mother. Alice is in no hurry to begin a seance, but after Quinn admits that she has already tried to contact the spirit on her own, she gets down to business. The prophet, wishing to restore the status quo in the world of spirits, enters the astral plane. But there meets something inexplicable, unknown to her and terribly nightmare. Alice advises a frustrated girl to return to normal, but it wasnât there.
Otherworldly evil spirits do not want to calm down: strange sounds are heard in the ventilation of Queen's house, a strange stranger haunts the girl at the entrance exam, and at night too realistic nightmares haunt her. So every day the heroine loses self-identity, a vicious circle narrows around Queen. Only Alice can help her, but the psychic seriously doubts her abilities.
The choice is yours!
"Astral 3" review from one of FashionTime authors Anastasia Sycheva deserved condescending. In her opinion, the debut of the Australian director failed. Lee Wannell worked on scripts in the Saw, Dead Silence projects and tried himself as an actor in the films Saw 3, Matrix Reloaded, and Tax Collector. Therefore, the cinema community expected a more impressive effect from his director's brainchild. But, alas, everything turned out too corny. The film critic notes that all the tricks used in the project, the viewer could contemplate in the previous parts, therefore, not a single frame from the timing of the painting "Astral 3" will really scare the viewer. Reviews of the film, left by foreign viewers, noted the strong cast of the film, and the critic Sycheva completely agreed with the prevailing opinion.
Casting cast
Indeed, the following were involved in the work on the film: young actress Stephanie Scott, known to the viewer for the projects âMore than Sexâ and âSworn Friendsâ, as well as Dermot Mulroney (âFriendsâ and âBest Friend's Weddingâ), Michael R. McKay ( Ace Ventura, X-Men 2), Engus Sampson (Mad Max (2015) and Fargo), Tate Burnie (Sons of Anarchy and Before I Go), Haley Kiyoko (Diaries Vampire âandâ Lemonade Mouth â), Corbett Tuck (â Debt Collector âandâ Call of Nature â), Steve Coulter (â The Hunger Games â,â Time to Kill â), Lee Wonnel and Lin Shay (â Wiji: The Devil's Board â and, "" A Nightmare on Elm Street "). Of all the above-mentioned masters of the scene, Lin Shay is especially impressive, she is a real professional, an unsurpassed master of her craft, the decoration of the Astral 3 horror. The recall of every second film critic contains praises of her acting. However, there are those who claim that it was her presence, her sweet and even funny appearance that became the starting point for turning a horror movie into a strange comedy of black humor.
Typical horror products
Publishing House "New Look" also did not miss the premiere of the film "Astral 3". Denis Stupnikovâs response is quite categorical, the critic called the work of director Lee Wonnell a typical horror production, pointing to the authorâs addiction to juggling allusions to the classics of the genre. There is a share of rationalism in its assessment. The fact is that the author intentionally abandoned the location traditional for this genre in the form of a remote old mansion, having settled his characters in a multi-storey building. This can be called a tribute to the "Shine" by Stanley Kubrick, in which the hotel corridor is the main source of excitement and fear. There is also an empty apartment number 54 in the Wannell film - the mysterious room is an analogue in Shine.
Creators tricks
You do not need to have a special education to note the fact that the picture is stingy with expressive means, flickering in the frame of otherworldly entities and supernatural characters can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The author intentionally shifts the center of gravity in the third part from computer special effects to acting. They say that the director himself personally locked the leading actor Stephanie Scott in the dark back room, forcing him to listen to depressing music at high volume in order to bring the actress to the state he needs. Not without reason, after watching the film âAstral 3â, the audienceâs reviews noted the perplexed appearance of the leading woman. But some film lovers expressed regret that they did not have time to get scared. During the viewing, many had the feeling that the creators intentionally, for overly impressionable viewers, provided for detente - the moments of the appearance of the strange Internet freaks Tucker and Space. Therefore, the place for a cleansing and relaxing laugh remained in the most terrible scenes of the Astral 3 horror. Reviews of the film, for the most part, do not consider this trick of the author justified in the genre politics of the picture and the general atmosphere of the franchise. However, this does not mean that there were no viewers who did not like the film.
By inertia of success
The film "Astral 3" recall of the domestic film critic Yevgeny Ukhov received a similar sentence, even its name is unequivocal: "She died so died." The specialist believes that the theme of "Astral" was sucked back in the first film. The second tape was able to scrape something together, in the third there was absolutely nothing left. Viewers already know well how communication with the other world works, supernatural fears, and what the activity of spirits in the world of people is aimed at. There is practically nothing to scare. The film has lost the power of horror, a riddle, a fundamental element of horror. The idea of ââthe creators to return to the history of one of the main characters of the first parts was temptingly interesting, but dangerous. After all, the atmosphere of the first picture was built not on the impressions of a psychic traveling across the other world, but on that nightmare that an ordinary family had to endure. The advantage of the director James Wang was in the accuracy and degree of intimidation, he skillfully escalating horror, did not make sudden movements, so the viewer eagerly empathized with the heroes. The second part rolled on the inertia of the success of the first, unfortunately, dropping to the level of a low-budget horror, losing the previous picture in drama. The third part is even worse. If the authors did not invite Lin Shay, did not indicate the astral âpedigreeâ in the title, the film âAstral 3â (rating, reviews of critics and spectators confirms this) could easily be called an ordinary horror, no different from the mass of its lesser-known and more cheap brothers.
Letting go - letting go
The essence of the story underlying the scenario of the third part is that the main character does not want to let go of her dead mother. Her feelings are quite explainable and understandable. This can also be attributed to the authors of "Astral 3", galvanizing the remains of a solid first picture, applying either a plantain or a patch to it. It would not be worth it. The story is over, the third chapter was superfluous.