‘Insidious: The Red Door’ review: Patrick Wilson directs a disjointed entry in the hit franchise

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t given much thought to what happened to the Lambert family after the end of 2013. Insidious: Chapter 2. After all, his story seemed to have come to a definitive end, and even the filmmakers didn’t seem to care too much, as they continued the franchise with two prequels. But since horror movies are money in the bank even in the post-pandemic era of theater, now comes Insidious: The Red Door, which revisits the original characters ten years later. You won’t be surprised to learn that they are not doing very well.

Well, Renai (Rose Byrne) seems to be doing fine, as she had the good sense to divorce Josh (Patrick Wilson, who makes his directorial debut with this supposed latest installment) after he tried to kill her and the children. (He was possessed by a demonic spirit after entering the spirit world known as “The Afterlife”, but still…) And Josh’s mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey, unfortunately only seen in photographs) has just die, so we don’t have to worry. about her anymore.

But things are not going well for the emotionally adrift Josh, who is mourning the loss of his marriage, and his teenage son Dalton (Ty Simpkins, reprising his role from the first two films), with whom he has a strained relationship. . In an effort to make things right, Josh, who along with Dalton has had his horrible memories of their past experiences suppressed by a handy dose of hypnotherapy, offers to drive his son to college, where he is starting his first year. anus.

It doesn’t go well, with the surly teenager resisting his father’s attempts at camaraderie, which include encouraging him to attend a frat party. Things improve marginally, both for Dalton and the film, with the arrival of Chris (Sinclair Daniel), a quick-witted and vivacious young woman who has been mistakenly assigned as his roommate. She becomes Dalton’s friend and confidante, which is no easy feat since he’s not exactly a bright personality.

Both father and son soon find themselves experiencing haunting visions as well as astral projections into all sorts of terrifying PG-13-rated situations. Director Wilson effectively stacks up the jump scares with such repetitiveness that you’ll wish your theater seat came equipped with a seat belt. But the horrors behind that infamous Red Door, filled with demonic figures who look like stand-ins for a Kiss tour, are purely of the superficial variety. The only truly disturbing episode involves Josh being trapped in an MRI machine; Anyone who has experienced being inside one of those hellish contraptions will definitely have a flashback to their own panic attack, even if it didn’t involve a monstrous figure inside with you.

Based on a story by himself and series co-creator Leigh Whannell (who returns for a cameo as the geeky Specs), Scott Teems’ script attempts to infuse the grisly proceedings with drama revolving around lingering guilt. of Josh and the revelations about the father than ever. he knew, which is now apparently haunting him. But none of it packs much of an impact, despite Wilson’s best efforts to provide character-driven texture.

Fans of the series will enjoy the reappearances of many characters from the other films, including the psychic Lin Shaye (she died in a previous installment, but death is not an impediment to making cameos in films like this one), although it is a shame that the always welcome Byrne is relegated. to a minor role. Even Wilson gets less screen time than Simpkins, who is forced to carry the film despite his character load being a real bummer. Thankfully there’s Daniel, providing some much-needed comedic juice to the otherwise unconnected goings-on, and Hiam Abbass (Succession), projecting her usual authority as Dalton’s art teacher.

Patrick Wilson fans familiar with his amazing musical performances in Broadway shows like the full Monty and Oklahoma! you’ll want to stick around for the end credits, with his vocals on a heavy metal song with Swedish rock band Ghost.