Insidious: The Red Door (2023) Film Review

Let’s be sad.

How many Insidious films have there been now? I think this is the fifth or fiftieth. I’m not sure anymore, though the pain is constant.

We’re back to the Lamberts and follow a perpetually confused Josh (Patrick Wilson, who also directs) who is suffering from brain fog due to having his memory wiped. Renai (Rose Byrne) has left him due to this, and that seems a bit screwed up.

Anyway, little Dalton (Ty Simpkins) is all grown up and on his way to art school, where it seems he only takes one class. Anyway, Dalton doesn’t have a personality so the film gives him a spunky roommate Chris (Sinclair Winslow) to try to inject some life into the movie. As Dalton continues working on his art, the memories of the hauntings begin to break through and now he needs to uncover the mystery before time runs out.

The Insidious films work the best when we are surrounded by a loving family. The Dalton clan made for an interesting mix, and the early two films balanced heartfelt drama, decent creep, and a true embrace of humor to make for some stellar pop-horror films. Since the first entry, we’ve moved increasingly further and further (no pun intended) away from the core success. Here, I had expected a return to form, but we scatter the family to leave them all disparate and alone, which kills the movie.

Dalton’s story is blandly predictable. So much time is spent on the set-up that by the time the scares start slowly oozing out I am not sure if anyone will still be awake. Josh is likewise wandering around most of the time. Keeping the two leads so separate is a bad decision that drags the film down. The pacing issue is drastically multiplied by empty scenes and plotlines that go nowhere. Chris is originally Dalton’s roommate, but then she moves to a different room–only to still more or less always be in his room. Why? Why spend so much time on this? 

Empty scenes in a barebones story can’t be saved by Wilson’s clear commitment to the character. He does give it his all, but there isn’t enough gas in the tank. Likewise, Wilson tries to make the film look sharp. We have competent directing from him throughout. I think it is too bad that Wilson seems to be the only one deeply invested in the story. I’m willing to bet this was mainly greenlit as a cheap way to make money off the franchise name.

I wonder when we’ll all be sick enough of these spinoffs to finally put them in the grave.

Fans of the original film are going to be drawn to this one because of the promise of seeing our beloved characters once again. The problem is that they aren’t in it enough, nor are they together enough. The film doesn’t fulfill its implied promise. 

Skip it.