INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER

Insidious: Out of the Further makes for the best spinoff film in the Insidious series to date with a few frightening sequences, the ever dependable Lin Shaye as Elise, and a scene stealing Brandon Perea, though as a whole Jacob Chase’s entry into the long running horror franchise plays it too safe with restraint in the scare department and has an overreliance on tricks from the previous films that renders its bite rather weak.

Back in 2011, maestros of horror James Wan and Leigh Whannell gave audiences a new terrifying vision that has been scaring audiences ever since: Insidious. With the chilling title card musical cue from Joseph Bishara that will get the audience’s hearts racing instantly, the creepy use of Tiny Tim’s “Tip Toe Thru’ the Tulips with Me”, the stellar pairing of Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, and the iconic, mortifying creatures from the Further such as the Lipstick Faced Demon and The Bride in Black, Insidious has carved a spot out for itself in the modern horror landscape and pushing the limits of a PG-13 rating. After the financial success of 2023’s Insidious: The Red Door, it was no surprise that the series would continue, and now three years later the next journey into the Further has arrived with Insidious: Out of the Further. Introducing audiences to a new set of characters, the new entry expands the lore of the Further while delivering some effective scares, marking a commendable spinoff that sticks to the franchise’s greatest hits, even if as a whole it does not capture the unchecked terror that made the franchise a hit in the first place.

It’s not the house that is haunted; it’s the person that is haunted. That is the concept at the centre of the Insidious franchise, and its latest entry does not stray far from the tried and proven formula of the series. There are some new flourishes to the Insidious blueprint that develop some intrigue for viewers, such as how Lin Shaye’s Elise returns to the fold despite being killed off at the end of the second film and the concept of the demons inside the Further trying to break out into our world. At the same time, there are lots of ideas that never go anywhere, such as the cult behind the film’s villain which is briefly introduced but never fully explored, and the familiarity of the story to previous entries holds it back and renders the narrative largely forgettable as it plays with recycled themes of childhood trauma and baits and switches that never feel fresh. For better or worse, the writing causes Insidious: Out of the Further’s story to feel like an early 2000s studio horror film: comforting in its predictability with some moments that deliver decent scares, but overall a film that is safe and not going to cause the frenzied reaction that turns horror films into smash hits. Without question, it's a step up from Insidious: Chapter 3 and Insidious: The Last Key as the writing does not try to force itself into the saga of the Lambert family and instead plays within its own corner of the world of Insidious with a confidence and interesting angle, even if it never pushes the envelope far enough to create the sequel that fans deserve, instead creating an entertaining but ultimately tame film.

Sadly, unlike the first two Insidious films which took big narrative swings to deliver scares that audiences would never forget that questioned the PG-13 rating of those films, Jacob Chase and his team are too comfortably situated in the PG-13 range and never conjure up moments of pure unbridled terror. While the dentist office sequence will no doubt have audiences squirming in their seats as it plays on the fear of the dentist that so many of us have, and the pillow fort set piece draws out the dread and delivers some decent yet predictable jump scares, none of the scares in the film are truly going to elevate the audience’s heart rates high enough to create true fear within the cinema. It’s no slight to the technical aspects of the set pieces, as the cinematography, editing and practical effects help to make every sequence realistic and chilling are all excellent, it is just the overall approach to the horror that feels like it is scared to truly terrify audiences the way they deserve to be.

At the centre of the film is the mother-daughter relationship of Gemma and Maya, and Amelia Eve does a great job in bringing that to life. As Gemma, Eve captures the fear and confusion of her ability to astral project and what lurks in the darkness of the Further, as well as the boundless love and protection she has for her daughter, making for a dependable lead character. The bond she creates with Island Austin, who plays Maya, in the film’s opening act is full of love and levity, creating the emotional heart of the film that guides viewers through this journey into the Further. Lin Shaye returns once again as Elise, and her calming confidence and wisdom instantly lights up the screen and confirms her status as the franchise’s secret sauce and requirement of every entry going forward in the franchise.

Maisie Richardson-Sellers is decent Clare, while Sam Spruell and Joseph Lopez deliver some effective chills as Cyrus and Lester respectively, but the film’s MVP is Brandon Perea as Nick, Gemma’s boyfriend. Capturing both concern for Gemma and her well-being, both physically and mentally as he grapples with the truth she shares with him, and a strength as Nick becomes a last line of defence against the forces of darkness, Perea commands the screen every second he is on it as he delivers many of the film’s standout moments, largely generating big laughter that cuts the tension of the eerie creepiness of the story in the best way possible. It’s a scene stealing performance that begs the question why Hollywood hasn’t made a bigger star out of Perea yet!

While the haunting of the Lambert family still remains the untouchable high point for the Insidious series, there is no denying that Insidious: Out of the Further is an enjoyable expansion of the world of Insidious that delivers some fun summer scares. Jacob Chase orchestrates an unsettling arrangement of jump scares and chilling moments that evokes the greatest hits of the Insidious series to commendable success, that combined with a story that both retreads familiar grounds while expanding the lore of the world, makes for a worthy addition to the series. With the commanding performances of Lin Shaye and Brandon Perea bringing an infectious energy to the entire production, even as Insidious: Out of the Further deploys tricks that audiences have seen time and time again in the Insidious franchise with a less malicious intent that does not result in a heart attack worthy scares, there is more than enough entertainment value in the film to justify audiences taking another trip into the Further.