Insidious: The Red Door is the fifth movie in the Insidious franchise. With unpredictable jumpscares, a well-written plot, and an ending that leaves you wanting more, this summer horror movie made $33 million at the box office in its first week. By the second week of its release, it hit $120 million.
Extending the story from the previous Insidious movies, Ty Simpkins continues to play Dalton Lambert, only this time he’s going to college. Both Dalton and his father, Josh, played by Patrick Wilson, have no recollection of the previous decade including the astral projection, Elise, Carl, or The Further. A new character played by Sinclair Daniel is introduced as Chris, Dalton’s roommate. They go on to explore their college together while getting caught up in chaotic conflicts.
The rest of the original cast did not appear for long during The Red Door since the movie mainly focused on the Lambert family. Rose Byrne, who plays Renai Lambert, had surprisingly very little screen time in the new movie. Foster, played by Andrew Astor, also gets a short scene in the movie which is only a short phone call with Dalton. Unfortunately, Elise, played by Lin Shaye, only shows up at the end of the movie as a ghost since she died in the first Insidious movie.
The Red Door is the first movie in the Insidious franchise where Patrick Wilson directs as well as acts. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Wilson stated that the offer to direct for The Red Door was “an incredible opportunity for any first-time director.” But not everyone who watched this movie was fond of that decision. Canyon High sophomore Alexis said, “It’s not as good as the first one,” and other public online reviews agree. This might be because Patrick Wilson’s direction style was drastically different from that of the other installments in the franchise.
However, the reviews do appear to be conflicting, and viewers have different opinions about this movie. Saugus High freshman Sarah Quinto enjoyed the movie, saying, “I feel like it was really action-packed,” and I agree. As an avid horror movie watcher, this movie had my heart beating so fast at the jumpscares. The MRI scan scene in particular was memorable and scary. Watching this movie in the theater, I screamed because I was caught off-guard by the scene.
Every detail and choice that Wilson made shaped the movie into being a great sequel and an excellent film in general. The music choices amplified the feelings that viewers were supposed to feel. It made situations more intense, eerie, and sad. Cinematography is also crucial, and in this movie, it heightened the suspense of it all. It was especially effective when the viewers could see something behind the characters that they weren’t aware of, not knowing something bad was about to happen to them. Together with strong acting from Ty Simpkins and Patrick Wilson that had me terrified for them, all I could do was sit on the edge of my seat.
To conclude, Insidious: The Red Door was a suspenseful, climactic watch that was a good continuation of the horrific story following the Lambert family. The return of the original actors makes the movie feel somewhat nostalgic, and the fact that Wilson left some questions unanswered might mean there is a possibility for a sixth Insidious movie to be released. Now that would be scary good.
