Worth: $12.00
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Cast:
Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, Lin Shaye, Hiam Abbass
Intro:
… knocking on this door should provide an adequate, if not spectacular, final trip into the Further.
The Insidious franchise has always been a bit of an odd duck. The original was shot on a comparatively low budget in 2010 and it almost seemed like director James Wan (Saw, Malignant) was having a test run for the much pricier, and successful Conjuring movies and spin-offs that began in 2013. Hell, they even share a male lead in the form of the always agreeable Patrick Wilson.
That’s not to say Insidious was without its charms, mind you. There was an ever-present sense of menace in the first couple of films in particular, and the use of Tiny Tim’s creepy “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” remains an iconic, if slightly baffling, artifact of popular culture.
After the first two flicks, however, the series went back in time on some inessential tangents and fans wondered if and when the story of the Lambert family would ever be finished. Well, now Insidious: The Red Door is here to provide that closure and the result is a film that is relentlessly… fine.
It’s fine.
Insidious: The Red Door takes place ten years after the events of Insidious: Chapter 2. If you’ve forgotten what happened in that 2013 flick, you’re being very on-brand, because both Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins) have as well. Although in their case, it’s an embedded hypnotic suggestion rather than just time’s indifferent slouch towards oblivion.
The problem, of course, is that the memories are still floating around in the minds of father and son and when Dalton goes off to study at a fancy art college, he soon begins experiencing vivid hallucinations and spooky visitations. It’s up to fuzzy-headed sad dad Josh to try and save the day and uncover the mystery of what’s going on.
The issue with films that use amnesia as a central hook, other than the inherent hackiness of the concept, is that the audience is ahead of the main characters. In the case of The Red Door, we’re an entire film ahead, so waiting for our two leads to figure their shit out over a protracted 107 minutes isn’t exactly a rollercoaster of excitement.
That said, there are good elements here. Patrick Wilson is always a welcome presence and provides his usual amiable gravitas. Ty Simpkins has also grown up to be a talented young actor and does a good job of playing the moody, troubled Dalton. Unfortunately, Rose Byrne takes a bit of a back seat here, which is a pity as she was such a grounding presence in the earlier films.
Patrick Wilson actually directs this entry as well and while the runtime feels flabby, he manages to create some menacing scenes (a sequence in an MRI machine is particularly effective) without resorting to endless jump scares. That said, you probably won’t be checking behind the couch or losing any sleep after seeing the film.
On the one hand, Insidious: The Red Door is a pretty ordinary horror movie. On the other, it’s a solid enough slice of closure for the first two Insidious flicks and if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll probably forgive things like the leaden pace and eye-rolling amnesia element. With those caveats in place, knocking on this door should provide an adequate, if not spectacular, final trip into the Further.