Some doors should not be opened, some should be nailed shut so tightly that nothing can come through again . We have witnessed some tremendous Insidious films (1 and 2). While the spin-off ones filled in some gaps and made some dollars to warrant more entries in the series, the original gang is back to deliver a follow-up sequel to the first and second films that look great on paper, however, the film itself flounders with a couple of good ideas but ultimately ends up being a re-hash of the first two films that fail to capture the scares of the films in the previous series. The story attempts to tap into the “trauma” storyline of films like Halloween (2018) but stumbles along while relying on the nostalgia of the original cast to maintain the audience’s interest. What should have been a fright-filled horror film dropped in the middle of blockbuster movie season, instead serves as a low point for the series that might just end the franchise for good.
The story here starts ten years after the events of the second film with Dalton (Ty Simpkins) heading off to art school. The now-divorced Renai (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Patrick Wilson) are keeping things civil but each other at a distance. When Josh drives Dalton to his college, it is clear that things are not so great between them. The missing year when Dalton was 10 as shown in the first films has clearly taken its toll on him and Josh with each of them clearly suffering from the trauma of these events and the long-term effects of having their memory wiped. When Dalton’s new art professor starts encouraging her class to dive deep into themselves, completing the task with a countdown from 10, Dalton starts uncovering the truth about the year of his life he cannot remember and once again the red door is open for the demons to once again wreak havoc on the living.
The biggest let down here are the horror elements of the movie, and that is the lack of them. There are a couple of scary moments that are just jump scares propelled by loud music in thoughtful moments, there is no build-up of tension that help you get to that stage. This being an Insidious film, turns out to be quite the disappointment when it comes to the scare factor.
Fortunately its not all bad, Chris (Sinclair Daniel) plays Dalton’s roommate and friend at college, and apart from being some much-needed comic relief, has the most natural reaction to what is going on. Her character manages to keep the story moving when it comes to a screeching halt. Chris doesn’t serve much more purpose than to give Dalton a reason to go to certain places and do certain things to start the scares, and that’s totally fine. With characters like this, they generally don’t get as much depth as Chris does in this film.
Behind the director’s chair is first-timer Patrick Wilson, taking the lead role and directing duties, you can see a lot of what Wilson has observed throughout his career and how he is putting it into practice here. You can clearly see the distinct style choice of how the camera moves and how scenes are connected together. While he did the best he could with the material he was given, it is clear that Wilson could shape up to be a fantastic director in the future.
What could have been another fantastic entry in the Insidious film series, turned out to be a massive disappointment. The rehashing of the first two films with older characters just didn’t work for this franchise. While the performances are solid and the directing from first-timer Patrick Wilson showed his skills, the film suffers from an over-bloated story and lack of scares that will leave horror fans disappointed.
