In Insidious: The Red Door, nine years have passed since Josh and Dalton Lambert had their memories tinkered with, to suppress all their experiences with supernatural forces. Within this time period, Josh has now become estranged from his family; a distance has grown between him and Dalton; and he can’t shake the feeling his mind has become somewhat foggy in recent years.
Keen to get to the bottom of what he believes could be a medical condition impacting his memories, Josh has some tests to rule out anything sinister. Meanwhile, Dalton leaves the family home for a new life at a colleague, where he enrols in art classes.
But even though Josh and Dalton are apart, they begin to experience some unexplained phenomena which seems extremely worrying. Both have disturbing visions they don’t understand and for Dalton these visions appear to have something to do with a mysterious red door, which he recently sketched in class.
Arriving in UK and US cinemas on Friday 7th July, Insidious: The Red Door is a supernatural horror movie, and the fifth entry in the Insidious series. Chronologically, the events of the movie take place after 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2, with series regulars Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, and Lin Shaye all reprising their roles from previous entries.
In the case of Wilson, he not only stars in this latest instalment, he also takes on directing duties. Insidious: The Red Door marks his directorial debut, with the actor-turned-director working from a story by Leigh Whannell and Scott Teems.
But while Wilson demonstrates he has the skills to ensure Insidious: The Red Door isn’t a train wreck of a film, and is at least workable, this is in no way an indorsement of this movie. Insidious: The Red Door is dull, it’s not the slightest bit scary, and even though it is competently put together, it adds nothing new to the series or the horror genre as a whole.
The problem with Insidious: The Red Door is that it all feels very unnecessary. Insidious: Chapter 2 concluded the main story; Chapter 3 and Insidious: The Last Key were prequels which filled in some backstory; and I’m not convinced anyone was crying out for much more.
To get this fifth chapter off the ground, the story has to unpick the mind-wiping resolution of part two in order to move forward. Problem is, rather than resolve this within the first few minutes, the story keeps Josh and Dalton in the dark until at least half-way into the film, and this leaves the audience waiting around for something (anything) to happen.
But nothing much does happen. There are a couple of jump scares here and there, it looks good, and there’s some atmospheric lighting going on, but that’s about it.
I want more. I want much more.
To be fair to Wilson, he does what he can to get the film going, but the script is severely lacking. There’s simply not much to work with here, and even the most experienced director would struggle to make this film engrossing.
Of course, it’s nice to see the principle cast reunited for this fifth instalment, and this should delight long-term fans; but be warned, most of the returnees have limited screen time. Outside of Simpkins and Wilson, everyone else drops by for what is at best a glorified cameo, and at worst a contractual obligation,
In the case of Rose Byrne, when the actress does pop up, she gets saddled with a bit of exposition, as well as a couple of interactions with Wilson, but nothing worthy of her time. Instead, Simpkins is the main focus here, with Wilson second, and that’s all we really get.
Outside of this, there’s a lot of padding, lots of darkness, and lots of hoping something interesting will happen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t and what remains is a by-the-numbers sequel that’s watchable but pointless.
If you’re a fan of the Insidious films, then you may find something of value in Insidious: The Red Door, but at no point will you be wowed by it. I don’t believe it tanks the series, so there is at least that, but it does confirm that unless someone comes up with something special, there’s not much more to say.
As for those who have never watched an Insidious movie before, or who aren’t all that fussed about the series, there’s nothing here for you. The story is unlikely to pull you in, and any emotional beats the film touches upon will largely fall short.
Unless you are desperate to watch Insidious: The Red Door, don’t waste your time or money. For now, close the door, put away the key, and go do something else instead.
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