Insidious: The Red Door - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Insidious: The Red Door



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
The Insidious franchise has become a staple of the horror franchise in the 2010s and early 2020s, rivaling even The Conjuring franchise for longevity and popularity. The first Insidious film (much like the first The Conjuring film) was a really good sleeper hit back in 2010. It was scary, inventive, and thoroughly exceeded my expectations for what I expected of it (Sinister was also another sleeper hit in the same ilk during that time period), and even the 2nd film captured my attention. However, the 3rd and 4th films had sort of gone another direction, exploring the horrific nature of the “other side” but from the point of view from the old Medium Elize more than the Lambert family that made up the 1st and 2nd film. But Sony has brought the franchise full circle in their latest attempt, with Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and the rest returning as the Lambert family looking to come to grips with their past.

It’s been 10 years since the events of the 2nd film where father Josh (Patrick Wilson) was possessed by an entity from the other side and tried to murder his family. In order to cope with the after effects, the family all underwent group hypnosis in order to forget what had happened. Unfortunately there was some side effects. While the others seemed to get along just fine, Josh and his son Dalton (now played by Ty Simpkins) feel the pull of the other realm known as the “further”. Josh and Renai (Rose Byrne) have gotten divorced, and Dalton is heading off to college to study art. He’s moody, depressed, and generally angry at his father who mentally left him while Josh suffered with his own side effects of the hypnosis.

But upon arriving at college things start to arise that were meant to stay hidden. Dalton’s teacher has them dig deep into their memories in order to spring forth artistic creativity, only to unlock some of Dalton’s memories that have suppressed. Soon the young man begins seeing spirits, and once more traveling to the further by astral projecting his spirit. But when you’ve forgotten everything, that leaves one vulnerable, as the lord of the Further once more tries to escape from behind the red door and come into the real world once more, using Dalton as his gateway.

Insidious: The Red Door is actually not half bad. Much less jump scares than the previous films, and more creepy narrative. Instead of feeling like a horror movie, it feels more like a supernatural thriller, with Dalton and Josh both working to regain their ability to astral project and seal the lord of the Further back behind the door forever. In a way it sort of completes the Lambert’s arc that was started back in 2010, and sidelined when the 3rd and 4th film were basically prequels dealing with the medium Elize (Lin Shaye) and her previous dealings with the other side. However, we all know, with popular running horror series, nothing is dead forever, so I wouldn’t be shocked if this wasn’t the last of the series. Especially considering how well The Red Door did over this summer’s theatrical run.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, frightening images, strong language and suggestive references




Video:

Sony’s 1080p encode looks very impressive, with a dimly lit motif that really saps the colors and life out of things. It’s moody, enigmatic feeling, with dark shadows and only a few primary splashes of red and orange (especially when in the Further) popping out. Fine details manage to be pretty decent, with good facial tones and really nice background detailing. There was some banding here and there, especially when in the other realm and the smoke roils all around. Crush is mild but present as well, but outside of that this is a very competent picture from Sony..









Audio:

Surprisingly over the years, the Insidious films have merely “really good” vs. “fantastic” audio mixes like most popular horror franchises (horror films live or die by their audio mixes). Much like previous sequels, the dialog is spot on clear as a bell, and the surround activity really good during the other worldly adventures. Bass is a bit dialed in though, with some decent jump scare moments adding that bump in the night you’re looking for, but overall it can be a subdued mix. Quiet with creepy crawly surround effects for the most part. Good, never great, but still a very good sound mix.












Extras:

• Past, Present, Further
• A Possessed Director

Final Score: ​

Insidious: The Red Door is not a great horror movie, but it isn’t bad either. I actually had a good time with the narrative, even though I wasn’t even remotely scared, and even the jump scares weren’t very important. This felt more of a horror thriller film, and I was actually fine with it. The Sony Blu-ray looks and sounds good, but my goodness, the extras are nearly nonexistent. At the end of the day this is a solid enough popcorn sequel to 2010’s best horror film, and a nice wrap up for the series (if left as is). Decent Watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Sinclair Daniel
Directed by: Patrick Wilson
Written by: Leigh Whannell, Scott Teems
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1,
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 107 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 26th, 2023

Recommendation: Decent Watch