Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

​"Insidious: The Red Door" stars Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Hiam Abbass, Sinclair Daniel, Andrew Astor, and Rose Byrne. Released on July 7, 2023, the film has the Lambert family encountering the demons from The Further once again.

The film featured the directorial debut of Patrick Wilson, and it is the fifth installment in the Insidious franchise. We all have to face our demons at some point in our lives. This particular family has some that are more deadly than our own. The "Insidious" films have been a roller coaster regarding my experience. While I don't return to them as much as others, I remember enjoying some of them for their effective scares and atmosphere. They're even some of the examples of horror movies that don't need an R rating to be terrifying. I didn't mind the first two "Insidious" movies, and I thought "Insidious: Chapter 3" was a good prequel to the sinister events. However, its previous installment, "The Last Key," convinced me to stay away from The Further forever. It's not because it's as frightening as the other films. It's because it's more tedious than scary. So it makes sense that I wasn't thrilled about its latest and possibly final film in the horror franchise, which sees its actor Patrick Wilson taking over directorial duties and returning to play the Lambert father. Regardless, I wound up watching it because my enjoyment of horror movies is just too great for me. Was it able to bring the franchise back to its roots and possibly bring this saga to a close? Let's dive back into The Further and find out. 

The story occurs nine years after the events of "Insidious: Chapter 2". The Lamberts continue to live their everyday lives but have grown apart following their previous experience with The Further, with a grown-up Dalton (Simpkins) heading to college and his father Josh (Wilson) being divorced from his wife Renai (Byrne). Unfortunately, their normality swiftly takes a left turn when the demons from The Further return to settle the score. With Dalton now haunted by a traumatic past he doesn't remember, he and Josh must decipher it to finally be rid of the evil entities and The Further for good.

With the release of "Chapter 2", we assumed that the Lambert family's problems were over since it was followed by two prequels centering on different characters. However, "The Red Door" changed that by having the family go through one last nightmare before their arc is complete. The franchise has benefited from having different characters experience The Further in the previous two follow-ups, including Lin Shaye's character, Elise Rainier. So having the Lamberts return makes this movie feel like a legacy sequel to the first two films, like "Top Gun" and "Indiana Jones". Aside from that, is this latest sequel worth the frightening comeback for these characters? Not really.

To its credit, "The Red Door" offers the familiar elements that made the previous films successful, mainly the bleak and unsettling atmosphere. For the scenes occurring during the nighttime, including The Further, the movies provide a disconcerting feeling of being trapped in the dark or the vast emptiness of this supernatural realm. They resulted in some decent scares and a sense of discomfort in the settings that went a tad beyond its teen rating. "The Red Door" has first-time director Patrick Wilson attempting to recapture that creepy atmosphere from the other installments. For the most part, I thought he did pretty well in accomplishing this goal. While everything else looked lackluster compared to James Wan's take regarding the direction, Wilson understood the creepy core that generated the horror franchise back in 2010. It may not be a fantastic directorial debut for Wilson, but it does leave him room for improvement whenever he's up to directing a movie again.

As for its storytelling, the movie attempts to capture the family drama amid its nightmarish moments. However, instead of focusing on the entire Lambert family like the first two installments, "The Red Door" emphasizes the father/son relationship between Josh and Dalton becoming strained since the incident in "Chapter Two". We also see Josh struggling to escape the shadows of his father, who abandoned him when he was young. This idea makes sense since the two have saved each other's butts from The Further in the first two "Insidious" films. We've cared for these characters for thirteen years, minus the two prequels, so to see them attempting to fix the family dynamic following their ghostly encounters seemed like an excellent opportunity to give audiences the fulfilling closure they deserve. But, of course, it also has to provide scary good fun for people who are up for another round inside the demonic realm.

While its good intentions for the father/son relationship are worth noting, they're not enough to make this cliched and dull finale more interesting than it should be. It features the ingredients shown in the previous installments and every other horror movie before it, such as the atmosphere, supernatural demons, and jump scares. However, the problem with those elements is that they went through the basics like clockwork without adding anything fresh or compelling to its formula, including the world-building and creatures from The Further (or lack thereof). But the worse offender is the jump scares, which were easily telegraphed and more tedious than unnerving. They don't leave a lasting impression on me compared to the previous movies, especially during the third act.  

Along with the movie's atmosphere, the cast made a competent effort in their performances to keep this supernatural experience from disappearing from our minds completely. Ty Simpkins is one of the actors reprising their roles of the Lambert family, and wow, what a difference between him here and "Insidious: Chapter Two". He's all grown up, much like his character, Dalton, but does it mean his acting talent remains the same as when he was a child? The answer to that question is a yes. I thought Simpkins did pretty well leading the cast as the teenage Dalton, with Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne following suit as Josh and Renai. Renai doesn't have much screen time compared to Josh and Dalton, but Rose Byrne continues to prove that she can do horror and comedy. Sinclair Daniel has some amusing moments as Chris Winslow, Dalton's roommate. However, she couldn't compare to what Specs and Tucker delivered in the previous installments, both of which briefly appeared in this film.

Overall, "Insidious: The Red Door" is an atmospheric but underwhelming finale that closes the door on the Lambert arc in a disappointing and cliched manner. Its intentions to provide a sentimental closure for these characters are backed up by the cast and Wilson behind the camera. Unfortunately, they're not enough to recapture the frightening and tension-filled essence that made the first film a terrifying treat for horror fans. Regarding its mediocre storytelling, genre cliches, and forgettable scares, the movie makes me glad this door will remain closed for a while. The only good thing about this movie is that it's a tad more tolerable than "The Last Key", but not by much. It'll likely impress a few people who enjoyed the previous installments. Sadly, it doesn't do anything else to convince those who have already quit the franchise to return to The Further.

D+