Insidious: Out of the Further, the latest sequel in the long-running horror franchise, delivers what some critics call the most chilling entry in years. Directed by Jacob Chase, best known for his 2020 horror Come Play, the film takes the story in a whole new direction for its sixth installment.
After five films over 16 years, the franchise has introduced a largely new cast. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, who reprised their roles in the 2023 sequel The Red Door, sit this one out. Amelia Eve stars as Gemma, a single mother haunted by her past after discovering she can enter the Further – the purgatorial realm of lost souls. Unlike previous films, Gemma can bring what she discovers in the Further straight back into the real world.
New cast and fresh scares
The film provides some of the most unsettling scenes in the series. In one sequence, hygienist Gemma is forced to pull what feels like a metre of hair from a patient's gums while he simultaneously grows another set of teeth. She is also spied on by a triplet of creepy, very starey elderly neighbours with menacing smiles.
Gemma encountering the Further's denizens in very real scenarios in her everyday life moves the lore of Insidious into a place that feels fresh. With the Lamberts' story closing after five chapters, ushering in a new cast now is the perfect time to shake the table with new rules.
Self-aware storytelling and comic relief
Director Chase and writer James Wan, who created the franchise, realised that the rules might have gotten a little muddled and blurred. They educate Gemma and her charming police officer boyfriend Nick (Brandon Perea) about the Further with illustrations of the demons on grapefruits, serving as a moment of comic relief and a witty tool to refresh the audience's memory.
The casting choices were pretty perfect, with Eve and Perea fine choices to carry the baton from Wilson and Byrne as the new on-screen couple. It's easy to root for them, and where Eve serves as the emotional drive behind the story, Perea offers complimentary light relief in those tense moments, particularly when it comes to his relationship with Gemma's young daughter.
Franchise anchor and final verdict
The series hasn't lost its true anchor in the form of formidable paranormal expert Elise (Lin Shaye). She is the real connector between each instalment and, despite her character dying in the first film, always finds a way to showcase the best of humanity against the supernatural.
Insidious: Out of the Further has some of the best scares in the film series that feel different to what we've seen so far, albeit nothing can quite top the original. But when you consider the originality of some of the great horrors we've seen this year, the film doesn't necessarily offer anything different in the grand scheme of things. That's not necessarily a terrible thing though if you want to have a good scare and an entertaining watch – after six films, you couldn't possibly expect anything more.
