With only a few exceptions such as Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Conjuring, Friday the 13th, and a handful of others, rarely do horror franchises manage to maintain a strong and consistent level of success for more than a couple of installments. The pattern seems to be two or maybe three big hits, then a steep downward spiral into the depths of mediocrity.

Another outlier, though it sagged a wee bit in its middle installments, was the Insidious franchise which bucked the trend of grotesque horror porn in favor of paranormal creeps and crawls which have haunted our dreams since 2008. And no, not even the bold stroke of reuniting the original cast for Insidious: The Red Door, is enough to deliver a satisfying experience.

Even as soon as fifteen minutes in, it becomes clear there’s something missing from this latest visit. This is the first Insidious chapter not written by Leigh Whannell… and it shows. Despite the potential for an intriguing storyline, and the return of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Andrew Astor, the film succumbs to too many tired clichés and uninspired scares. The result is a lackluster and forgettable experience for audiences.

The Red Door’s ineffectiveness isn’t necessarily all on director Patrick Wilson. This is Wilson’s first time in the director’s chair and though he does well enough, he often struggles with the film’s haphazard pacing, and poorly executed transitions that leave us grasping to follow the story’s intentions.

Speaking of the story; Scott Teems writes it, with Whannel getting a minor credit. When we last left the Lambert family, at the end of Chapter 2, astral projectors, Josh (Patrick Wilson), and Dalton (Ty Simpkins) were still recovering from multiple trips into The Further, a kind of purgatory dimension inhabited by tortured spirits of the deceased.

Kidnapped by a demon, and then rescued by his dad, Dalton watched his father become possessed by a ghost causing him to rampage through the house, attempting to kill the entire family. Then Dalton went back into The Further with hopes of rescuing his father.

In The Red Door, we pick up with Dalton and Josh attempting to get on with their lives. Josh is now divorced from his wife Renai (Byrne), and Dalton heads off to an east coast art school where a particularly over-ambitious art teacher encourages Dalton to explore the relationship between light and dark in order to develop his own unique style of art. Big mistake for Dalton to take that literally! There are some really dark things buried inside Dalton’s psyche since being hypnotized to forget what happened to the Lambert family ten years ago.

It’s these aspects which become the main themes explored by Teems’ script. The value of family, dealing with trauma, understanding the relationship between light, dark, and balance are all seeds that were sown in the first film. Unfortunately those seeds don’t bear fruit in this latest.

Another major letdown with Insidious: The Red Door is the lack of scary moments throughout. The original Insidious film was celebrated for its ability to generate genuine terror and tension, but The Red Door falls way short. Whenever the soundtrack goes silent, that’s when something is going to jump out. Wilson, as a director, clearly hasn’t yet perfected the art of effective atmosphere and well-timed jump scares. Loud noises and shock value aren’t enough.

Sadly, Insidious: The Red Door fails to live up to the legacy of its predecessors. With a convoluted plot, ineffective scares, underdeveloped characters, uninspired performances, lackluster cinematography, and a disappointing conclusion, this film falls flat on nearly every front. It's safe to say that Insidious: The Red Door is a forgettable addition to an otherwise beloved series. It’s time to put these demons to rest.

Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures
Available on Blu-ray - September 26, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH; Spanish; French
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French (Canada): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Insidious: The Red Door creeps and crawls its way onto hi-def with a blu-ray + Digital code edition from Sony Pictures.

The company clearly understands what a stinker it has as evidenced by the lackluster presentation in this single disc edition that comes housed in a cardboard slipcover with a blu-ray disc and a digital redemption code.

Video

Far better than the film itself. The 1080p AVC 2.39:1 picture is actually an excellent one that holds up very well despite the darkness of the many of the film's interior settings. The quality of the transfer in such a dark film as this is always easy to critique and Sony passes the test with a flawless image that is always sharp, crisp and clean even in the outer edges of the pitch-black frames.

These films that take place in dimly lit interiors are also always nice to look at as they make colors pop against the dark backgrounds. And pop they do here. Reds, oranges, and occasional blue-greens are absolutely gorgeous while skin tones remain true-to life. Very nice job!

Audio

Horror films are typically very fun to experience on the audio front as well, and this one is no different. Appreciating the difference in sound levels between the film's quieter moments as they lead up to the head-thumping jump scares is a fine art. And Sony passes the test with its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Perfectly audible dialogue is maintained throughout.

Supplements:

Sony comes up short on the supplementals front as the release comes with only a pair of bonus items that look into the history of the franchise and the film's first-time director. Sony lays an egg in this department

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• Past, Present, Further
• A Possessed Director

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	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 107 mins
Director: Patrick Wilson
Writer: Leigh Whannell; Scott Teems
Cast: Ty Simpkins; Patrick Wilson; Rose Byrne
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Face Your Demons.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: July 7, 2023
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 26, 2023
Synopsis: The Lamberts must go deeper into The Further than ever before to put their demons to rest once and for all.