Exclusives
Leigh Whannell Might Not Write ‘Insidious 5’ [Exclusive]
Upgrade will be the second Leigh Whannell movie of 2018, as Insidious: The Last Key opened up the year the first weekend of January. During an interview with Bloody-Disgusting for Upgrade, Whannell said he has not begun writing a fifth Insidious, and he may not write one at all.
“I’m sure the second this film comes out I’m going to get a phone call from Jason Blum to say, ‘All right, Insidious 5,’” Whannell said. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be involved in all honesty. I love the films and the franchise and it’s been a good experience, but the question is always do I have anything to offer. Maybe a fresh set of eyes is the best thing for this franchise if they’re going to continue it. So we’ll see.”
The Last Key, the fourth Insidious film, brought the series back to the beginning with Elise (Lin Shaye) getting the call to help the Lambert family. Chapter 3 and The Last Key were prequels about Elise’s earlier paranormal investigations. Catching up may have been a way to ensure the next Insidious moves forward in time.
“I think it wasn’t deliberate but I felt like there are no more movies you could make within that loop,” Whannell said. “We’re all caught up now.
“That is a good expression to use. I think these Insidious movies are now a closed loop so if they’re going to continue, I think it should pick up in the future.”
Still, four Insidious movies is one more than Whannell wrote of the Saw franchise.
“With Saw, I was really done,” Whannell said. “After I wrote that third movie I was like I can’t, I’m out. To me, I felt the story was becoming about the gore and not about the story, which I’m responsible. I wrote the two sequels and I felt the sequels were getting more visceral, more violent. I felt that I didn’t have anything else to offer which was a strange feeling to walk away because then they kept making sequels. I wasn’t involved creatively so there was a weird detachment to look up and see a billboard on Sunset Blvd. and be like oh, that’s a movie that I created that now it’s its own thing.”
If it’s not Insidious 5, Jason Blum is sure to keep Whannell employed. Upgrade is being released by Blumhouse Tilt.
“Certainly there’s no ill will,” Whannell said. “Obviously I made Upgrade with Blumhouse so the relationship we have through the Insidious movies is good. I love working with them. I’ll hopefully work with them many more times but I don’t know about Insidious yet.”
Whannell is working on another original horror script he hopes to complete after Upgrade comes out.
“I’m writing a film right now, kind of psychological horror meaning not supernatural horror,” Whannell said. “So we’ll see how that turns out. If it turns out not terrible, I’ll direct it.”
Upgrade is out June 1 and we’ll have more with Whannell and star Logan Marshall-Green next week.
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika
You must be logged in to post a comment.