Insidious: The Red Door (2023) Movie Review

Finally, we can watch the film that we have been waiting for a long time on July 12, 2023. The fifth and final film from the Insidious franchise will give us an answer for what will happen to his father, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) and his son, Dalton Lambert ( Ty Simpkins).

At the end of Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), their memories are erased by Carl (Steve Coulter) who is a friend of Elise (Lin Shaye) who was killed in Insidious (2010).

In the media screening that was held earlier in Jakarta on July 6, the premiere of this film was indeed lively. Cinema seats are almost completely filled and many fans of this film are waiting for the closing of the franchise to make them curious.

It is undeniable that the story of the Lambert family is indeed interesting to follow. Apart from the fact that the first two films were directed by James Wan, who was successful with his Conjuring universe, Lin Shaye’s role as Elise has indeed left a deep mark on the franchise, which is entering its decade.

In Insidious: The Red Door , we’ll see Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Ty Simpkins again, who reprise their roles, plus now that Patrick Wilson makes his directorial debut in this closing film of Insidious.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023) Synopsis

The film opens 10 years after the events of Insidious: Chapter 2, where Josh and Dalton, now have no memory of the events that terrified their entire family in Chapter 2.

At the opening of The Red Door, Josh has been divorced by his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) and is on bad terms with his son, Dalton. Now that Dalton is preparing to go to college, Renai suggests that Josh take Dalton to an art school which triggers their fight again.

After they fought, Josh returned to treatment, he found out why he was so forgetful and tried to restore his memory. Dalton began to be terrorized when his lecturer told him to dig up his deepest memories so that they could be poured into a painting.

Soon the two of them began to be haunted by their past through the darkness, Josh started to be haunted since he did an MRI, and Dalton started drawing a red door with a scary figure beside the door.

Josh started to find out, he then practiced like a child, to recover his memory. Meanwhile, Dalton, assisted by his roommate, Chris Winslow (Sinclair Daniel), begins to find out what happened to the real Dalton.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023) review

Now more human than scary

There is a term, different chef, the taste of the food must be different. That’s how we feel when we watch Insidious: The Red Door . There is a different nuance when this film was directed by James Wan in the first and second films.

In both films, we can even feel a really scary and tense atmosphere in every scene. Likewise with other directors such as Leigh Whannell and Adam Robitel.

However, Patrick Wilson takes this film in a different direction. Dalton, who entered college and interacted with Chris, made this film feel like a teenage suspense film from the late 90s to 2000s, rather than the family horror that James Wan had previously portrayed.

The development of the film for a decade also had an impact on Renai and Josh who had to end their marriage. This made the chemistry between the two not as close as the first two films.

There is a distance that makes Josh have to find out the cause of it all, and Dalton too. Of course in their own way. This makes the film feel like it is searching for its own identity through its two main characters, rather than uniting as a family.

Towards the end, all will be answered. Maybe not all viewers will be satisfied. There is a sense of nostalgia that accompanies this film, which is shown through several characters, and that is not through action, but through crying tears.

Patrick Wilson’s promising debut

Is The Red Door worse than the previous Insidious? Of course not, Patrick Wilson does have his own style. Patrick is now more inclined to the characters Josh and Dalton, while the others only become their supporters.

Indeed, the jumpscares are still scary in several scenes, although not as good as the first two films. Darkness is the easiest way for any director to tuck in a few surprises for the audience.

Especially when entering The Further, and Cineverse sees, that our audience is so easily scared when scenes in the dark are present, and immediately close their eyes. Especially when a lipstick-faced devil comes to them.

But Wilson also has a difference, he is good at slipping tension when the atmosphere is bright. When Josh is chatting with Dalton in the car, something appears behind his seat that will surprise us.

Likewise, when he was guessing the picture in the house across the street, a shadowy figure was seen getting closer and closer when Josh opened the box containing the picture until finally he was attacked by the figure.

The fear that Patrick Wilson conveys like this is indeed very effective in giving more tension to this film.

Insidious: The Red Door Conclusion

Insidious: The Red Door might not be the best if we compare it to the previous version of James Wan. The scares it delivers aren’t as intense as the first two films, and as a franchise conclusion, it’s less groundbreaking.

This film feels more personal for Patrick Wilson, and he tries with his own style if the problem has to start from the bottom, namely from his father who died long ago, and also his children who are affected by it.

After starting from there, then he tried to improve his messy life with his family. The guilt he committed in Chapter 2 made his family fear him, and Josh tried hard to fix that.

Insidious: The Red Door raises an emotional epilogue rather than the action of heroism shown by the first two films. Not everyone will like an ending like this. But this is exactly what Patrick Wilson hopes to bring to the end of this decade-long franchise.