Insidious: The Red Door
Insidious: The Red Door is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by Patrick Wilson (in his directorial debut) from a screenplay by Scott Teems based on a story by Leigh Whannell and Teems. Produced by Blumhouse and Screen Gems in association with Stage 6, it is a direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), and the fifth installment in the Insidious franchise. Original director James Wan serves as a producer, as does Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, Steve Coulter, Joseph Bishara, Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Lin Shaye reprise their roles from previous films. Sinclair Daniel and Hiam Abbass join the cast.
Insidious: The Red Door
- Leigh Whannell
- Scott Teems[1]
Characters
by Leigh Whannell
- Jason Blum
- Oren Peli
- James Wan
- Leigh Whannell
- Ty Simpkins
- Patrick Wilson
- Sinclair Daniel
- Hiam Abbass
- Rose Byrne
Autumn Eakin
- Derek Ambrosi
- Michel Aller
- July 7, 2023
107 minutes[2]
United States
English
$16 million[3]
After the release of Insidious: The Last Key in 2018, Blumhouse opted for possibilities to produce future films in the series, including a crossover with the Sinister series. In October 2020, the studio announced that Wilson would direct and star in the new film, with Teems writing the script based on a story written with Whannell. With a production budget of $16 million, filming took place in August 2022 at the Morris County and Madison locations around Jersey City.
Insidious: The Red Door was theatrically released in the United States on July 7, 2023, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $189 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series. It was nominated for Best Horror Film at the 51st Saturn Awards.
Plot[edit]
In 2019, nine years after his possession, Josh Lambert's memories of his experience in The Further have been repressed. He is divorced from his wife Renai and his mother Lorraine has recently deceased. His relationship with his son Dalton has become strained and unpleasant, and he attempts to heal things between them while dropping him off at college but it ends with them in a conflict.
In his first art class, Dalton ends up drawing a picture of the red door used to enter The Further. Meanwhile, Josh begins being haunted by the spirit of a man, eventually discovering that it is his father Ben Burton who he believed abandoned his family when he was young. Dalton attends a frat party with his roommate Chris, where he sees the ghost of a student that is constantly vomiting. After accidentally going into The Further again, Chris shows Dalton a YouTube video by Specs and Tucker, explaining how astral projection works, which leads to a clip of Elise Rainier talking about The Further.
Dalton attempts to astral project again while Chris watches over his body. Chris is then attacked by an unseen entity and her screams alert Dalton, who rushes back to his body and sees that it is the red-faced demon that tormented him as a child. After being warned by Chris to stop using his abilities, Dalton calls his brother, Foster, who tells about a recurring dream he used to have of Josh trying to kill them. This spurs Dalton's memory and he finishes his painting, which shows a possessed Josh in front of the red door. A distressed Dalton is pulled into The Further, back to when a possessed Josh attacked them in the basement. He tackles Josh as Josh attempts to kill the younger Dalton and ends up transported back to the red-faced demons lair.
Josh begins researching his father and discovers that he killed himself while institutionalized in a mental hospital. He talks to Renai, who reveals the truth about what happened to their family a decade ago and that his father also had the ability to astral project but believed the things he saw were a result of mental illness. Foster shows them a photo of Dalton's painting he texted and they realize Dalton is in danger. Renai helps Josh to go back into The Further to rescue their son.
With Dalton trapped in his lair, the demon possesses his body and attempts to kill Chris but is stopped when Josh manages to find and free Dalton. The demon chases them to the red door and Josh stays behind to keep it shut so Dalton will be safe. Dalton returns to his body and paints over his red door painting with black paint, which in turns seals the real door and The Further.
Josh meets his father's spirit, who guides him back to the living world. Once back, Josh agrees to have dinner with Renai and the kids, hinting at a possible reunion. As he leaves, he unknowingly meets Elise's spirit, who tells him that he has a bright future ahead of him. Josh then drives to Dalton's college, where father and son reconcile as Dalton reveals a painting of Josh carrying a young Dalton out of The Further.
In a post credits scene, the light over the sealed door to The Further flickers back on.
Music[edit]
The film's score is composed by Joseph Bishara, who returned to the franchise after composing the first four films in the series.[17] The score soundtrack was being released on July 7, by Madison Gate Records.[18] Ghost contributed a cover of the Shakespears Sister song "Stay." Patrick Wilson's vocals are also on the track. It features during the closing credits.[19]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Insidious: The Red Door grossed $82.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $106.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $189.1 million.[4][5] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $92 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[22]
In United States and Canada, Insidious: The Red Door was released alongside Joy Ride, and was initially projected to gross $18–23 million from 3,188 theaters in its opening weekend.[3] After making $15.3 million on its first day (including $5 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were raised to $31 million.[23] It went on to debut to $33 million, topping the box office and marking the second-best opening weekend in the franchise behind Chapter 2 ($41 million in 2013).[24] In its second weekend, the film made $13 million, dropping 61% and finishing third behind newcomer Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and holdover Sound of Freedom.[25] It then made $6.5 million in its third weekend, falling to sixth place.[26]
In the Philippines, a market where the horror genre is widely popular,[27][28][29] Insidious: The Red Door broke the records for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a horror film,[30] the highest-grossing opening weekend of 2023,[30] and the highest-grossing horror film of all time (with a cume of $6.9 million, surpassing The Nun).[31][32][33]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 38% of 116 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Earlier installments have had their moments, but behind Insidious: The Red Door lies the disappointing denouement of a once-frightening franchise."[34] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[35] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 72% of filmgoers gave it a positive score.[24][23]
Owen Gleiberman from Variety gave the film a negative review saying, "For a first-time director, Patrick Wilson doesn't do a bad job, but he's working with tropes that have already been worked to death. It's time to close this carnival of souls down".[36] Meagan Navarro writing for Bloody Disgusting felt the film gave a satisfying closure to the series. She explained, "Those hoping to learn more about the Lipstick Demon and the darkest corners of the Further may come away disappointed. The Red Door isn’t interested in the mythology but instead in examining how its ghosts fractured the family and whether their enduring love can make them whole again. Wilson reminds audiences why they fell for the Lambert family in the first place with a sentimental sequel that tenderly bids them farewell. While it doesn't give a sense of finality to the Further or its ghostly inhabitants, it does offer poignant closure to the protagonists that started it all".[37]
