PopHorror Let's Get Scared
NOTE: This review was generated during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, this film wouldn’t exist. PopHorror fully supports the WGA and SAG-AFTRA and their efforts.
Insidious: The Red Door picks up 9 years after its predecessor with an opening scene that immediately sets the tone of the film, now directed by franchise star, Patrick Wilson. This time, we aren’t just here for the scares.
The Red Door isn’t as much about the spirits of the Further as much as it is a character driven showcase of the effects of trauma and not dealing with it properly. It’s a direction that reigns the story back closer to reality after taking so many steps away from it with The Last Key.
The last time we saw the Lamberts, they were being hypnotized to forget all of the events involving the Further, only to remember that Dalton was in a coma, then recovered. Now, 9 years later, the Lamberts aren’t the family we remember. They’ve been living for years with part of their lives just…missing, and it affects them all in different ways. They’ve drifted apart.
Dalton is now attending an art school, where he mostly keeps to himself aside from his accidental roommate, Chris (Sinclair Daniel), who is probably the most likable character in the movie. The scenario is pretty by the numbers until an art project begins to unlock Dalton’s memories through a painting. Without major spoilers, this painting becomes the focal point for a rising tension that builds through the rest of the film.
As Dalton remembers more pieces of his past, he adds to the painting and the result is more terrifying with each addition. At the same time the movie introduces more scares as the painting progresses.This isn’t a knock on the rest of the film, but the painting was the highlight of the film for me and the end result did not disappoint.
What makes Insidious The Red Door stand out is, at the heart of the film, it’s about not forgetting your past. It’s a literal take on the demons of your past coming back to haunt you if you try to suppress or ignore them. It shows that no matter what we’ve been through, those events make us who we are, and I love how the film handles this.
The Red Door isn’t the scariest in the franchise, but it makes up for it in its brilliant character writing, with great performances to match.
Insidious: The Red Door features a screenplay by Scott Teems from a story by Leigh Whannell. It is in theaters now. You can watch the trailer below.
