Insidious: Out of the Further — more shrug than shiver

So, here we are again: Insidious has returned for its latest go-round, still clinging to life over a decade after James Wan and Leigh Whannell first sent families into dimly-lit hallways with the original back in 2011. The franchise has always been a bit of a head-scratcher—one decent opener, and then a string of follow-ups that couldn’t resist recycling their own tired supernatural lore. But now with Insidious: Out of the Further, we’re six films deep, and the question is: can they actually show us something new before that infamous red door finally slams shut for good?

Across five previous films, the Insidious series has raked in more than $740 million at the global box office.

Demonic déjà vu

Let’s not sugar-coat it: the franchise’s main gimmick—the so-called Further astral plane—has always been a bit of an as-you-like-it backdrop. There are no fixed rules, just a lot of fog, a few blokes in makeup, and the occasional new supernatural concept as needed. That flexibility could be brilliant, but more often than not, it means you get whatever’s convenient for the plot that day. For Out of the Further, director and writer Jacob Chase finally leans into an idea that probably should have popped up a couple of films ago: what if the Further’s nastier inhabitants could actually force their way into the real world?

The way they hyped this twist in the trailers, you’d think it was some groundbreaking reinvention for the franchise. In practice, it’s more of the same—just now with a Halloween party from hell as the big set piece. It’s starting to feel like, after all these years, even the folks making these films are running out of steam.

Family drama and evil neighbours

The setup is familiar: dim houses, lingering shots in underlit corridors, and yet another unhappy family. This time, the unlucky lead is Gemma, who as a child watched her mum gruesomely end her own life. Fast-forward about twenty-odd years and grown-up Gemma (Amelia Eve, playing it mostly straight) is a dental hygienist, brushing past her grim past and concealing it from her own daughter, Maya (Island Austin).

Predictably, it’s not long before some truly unsettling pensioners start lurking round the neighbourhood. Enter the Acolytes—the Further’s own footsoldiers—here to help the demon Cyrus (Sam Spruell) make the leap into suburbia. Meanwhile, Gemma’s haunted dreams are a cover for actual trips into the Further, shot with the same sort of mid-budget slickness that’s become the series standard. David Garbett (DOP) and Nick Bassett (production designer), both fresh off Evil Dead Rise, don’t do much to hide it. Still, there are a few standouts: a creepy crawl through Maya’s pillow fort that actually feels tense, and a mouth-watering—well, stomach-turning—scene where Gemma works on an Acolyte’s revolting teeth and ends up pulling an enormous hair from under a rotting molar. If you want memorable, that’s probably it.

Elise and the series regulars

Every Insidious movie needs its now-iconic psychic, Elise (Lin Shaye), back for another round. Loyal as ever, she appears to rattle off more supernatural catch-up than spooky wisdom, but the script can’t figure out anything new to do with her. Instead of bringing back the comic relief duo Specs (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), we’re introduced to Claire (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), a tattoo artist whose main purpose is to communicate with Elise using a frankly ridiculous straitjacket and headphones rig. If you’re wondering if that makes sense, don’t bother—it doesn’t. That’s become part of the series’ charm, or at least what’s left of it.

• Amelia Eve as Gemma
• Island Austin as Maya
• Sam Spruell as Cyrus (the demon)
• Lin Shaye returning as Elise
• Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Claire

The story also throws in a brand-new detail: Gemma’s status as a Courier—someone who can actually bring things back and forth from the Further. It’s a neat enough addition if you don’t think too hard about what it means for possible future sequels (and the franchise’s ability to kick the plot-can even further down the road).

In a finale that, for some reason, involves a tattooed grapefruit demonstration and the requisite costumed demons running riot in the real world, we land right back where we started: chaos, noise, and not much in the way of lasting scares. As always, the series’ old-school haunted house vibe looks more out-of-date than nostalgic, especially now that newer, fresher horror is raising the bar elsewhere.