INSIDIOUS Franchise Trudges Along - Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson Divulge CHAPTER 3 Details at SXSW

It appears that the Insidious franchise is already starting to fall privy to the the tired franchise trope. It appears that actors Patrick Wilson, nor Rose Byrne, will be returning for the newly announced Insidious: Chapter 3. According to Leigh Whannell (writer) and actor Angus Sampson, the film will (which has a tentative release date in spring of 2015) focus on a whole new family and their whacky adventures in The Further.

Matt Donato at We've Got This Covered interviewed the two at South by Southwest in Austin, TX and was able to get some details surrounding the new addition:

WGTC: So you’re both coming back for Insidious 3 I’m assuming, as Specs and Tucker?
Leigh Whannell: Yes, yes, you’ll see some Specs and Tucker. [Laughs]
WGTC: So are we going to go even harder on the comedy, or will there be a step back?
Leigh Whannell: I don’t know, I always thought that a little of Specs and Tucker goes a long way.
Angus Sampson: Agreed.
Leigh Whannell: I think they were always meant to be side characters. Insidious was great fun because I wrote it and I wasn’t even planning to be in it, then all of a sudden I’m like, “Well, she has an assistant.” Then I was like, “Well, I’ll get Angus involved, how great would that be to have my mate come over from Australia!” So we ended up doing this thing and it was so fun. But I wouldn’t want it to be – I think it’s like chocolate. You eat enough and you’re like, “Blah, chocolate!” One piece is enough, but [Specs and Tucker] will be back and I’d like to do something different with them, you know?
WGTC: So my other question of course deals with the ending of Insidious Chapter 2, when Lin Shaye’s character sees something, and she gasps right before cutting to black. Did she see something from her past? A future demon? Where is Insidious 3 going?
Leigh Whannell: I don’t think we’re going to continue with that for the sequel. I can’t say too much, but I think we’re going to go off in a different direction with a new family, and not pick up from where the second one left off. I think Patrick [Wilson] and Rose [Byrne] have had enough punishment – we need to move on and punish someone new. I think that’s probably all Jason Blum would allow me to say, he’s comfortable with me telling people we’re not going with the Lambert family again. It was great to write because it was like writing the first film.

Welp, there you have it. Will Insidious be able to survive without the Lamberts? Franchises certainly lose a huge oomph when this is the case, but only time will tell. There are still plenty of teenage butts to cram in those theater seats. 

HORROR AT SUNDANCE: COOTIES Opens Strong, Lionsgate Swoops in For Distribution Rights!

  

Cooties, the pre-pubescent zombedy (and debut film) from Elijah Wood's SpectreVision, opened at Sundance on Sunday night to great reception. So good in fact, that Lionsgate is making their bid to acquire North American distribution rights. 

SpectreVision is a new production company, focusing on genre films (primarily horror), that was started by Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller. They've got quite the year mapped out for the company, with Cooties only being the first. The story was penned by Leigh Whannel (Saw, Insidious), and this Lionsgate deal marks quite the anniversary. It was 10 years ago, at Sundance 2003, that Lionsgate swooped in and bought Saw which then went on to become one of the biggest horror franchises in recent times. 

Starring Elijah Wood and written by Leigh Whannel, “Cooties follows a struggling writer/substitute teacher whose first day at an elementary school sees him dealing with a virus that turns the kids into mindless killing cannibals. The teacher bands with the survivors — played by Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer and Leigh Whannell, among others — to figure out an escape from the school.”

Also appearing in the film are Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge Garcia.

HORROR AT SUNDANCE: COOTIES Are a Very Real Threat To Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson In a New Dark Comedy!

Elijah Wood does not stop and I love it! Since making a huge impact on the horror world in last year's seminal remake of Maniac, Elijah Wood has made it very clear that he plans on making horror his new home. It's so exciting to see such a mainstream star take such a huge interest in the genre that we all know and love, and I for one, am very happy to have him among us. 

We've already talked about his John Cusack co-starred thriller, Stage Fright; he is heading up a new horror production company called SpectreVision that will be releasing an Iranian Vampire flick entitled A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (that looks amazing), and he will be teaming up with John Landis to produce Bad Vibes, a werewolf film set in the "psychedelic music scene of the 1960's". While all of these are exciting, the film that's currently on everyone's lips is his starring role in the Leigh Whannell scripted exploitation film, Cooties. 

"A mysterious virus hits a small Illinois town, affecting only the prepubescent population, transforming them into violent, feral little monsters.  The virus centralizes in the town’s elementary school, and quickly the infected students have the teaching staff under siege, acting out deadly revenge fantasies with an eerie sense of childlike glee.  Finally, the teachers band together, led by a hapless substitute who grew up in the town, realizing they must do the unthinkable if they hope to survive."

Awesome much? The cast is also pretty damn impressive, while Wood is headlining, we also have Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge Garcia. While it's not exactly something that I keep hidden on here, I am not the biggest fan of Whannell's work but I am very excited to see this film. I think this could be a turning point for my opinion's on the guy. 

Below you can see the poster (which I am in love with, see the previous article on Almost Human for reasons) and a new still that has just been released. Cooties heads to Sundance where it will make it's world premiere on January 18th! And trust me, I will be keeping you posted on when and where you can see it yourself as that information makes the rounds.