Patrick Wilson Directs Limp Sequel – The Hollywood Reporter

If you’re anything like me, you probably haven’t given much thought to what happened to the Lambert family after 2013 ended. Insidious: Chapter 2. After all, their story seemed to be over for good and even the filmmakers didn’t seem too concerned as they continued the franchise with two prequels. But since horror movies are money in the bank even in the post-pandemic age of cinema, now it comes Insidious: The Red Door, which revisits the original characters ten years later. You won’t be surprised to hear that they’re not doing very well.

Well, Renai (Rose Byrne) looks good as she had the good sense to divorce Josh (Patrick Wilson, making his directorial debut with this supposedly final installment) after he tried to kill her and the kids. (He was possessed by a demonic spirit after entering the spirit world known as “The Further”, but still…) And Josh’s mother Lorraine (Barbara Hershey, sadly only seen in photos) has just passed away, so we don’t have to worry about her anymore.

But things are not right for the emotionally drained Josh, who is grieving the loss of his marriage, and his teenage son Dalton (Tye Simpkins, reprising his role from the first two films), with whom he has a strained relationship. In an attempt to patch things up, Josh – who along with Dalton has had his terrifying memories of his past experiences suppressed by a handy dose of hypnotherapy – offers to drive his son to college, where he is starting his freshman year.

It doesn’t go well as the moody teenager resists his father’s attempts at camaraderie, which include encouraging him to attend a frat party. Things improve slightly, both for Dalton and the film, with the arrival of Chris (Sinclair Daniel), a witty and vivacious young woman who is mistakenly assigned as his roommate. She becomes Dalton’s friend and confidant, which is no easy task because he doesn’t exactly have a sparkling personality.

Both father and son soon find themselves experiencing disturbing visions as well as astral projecting themselves into all sorts of creepy PG-13 situations. Director Wilson effectively builds up the jump scares with such repeatability that you’ll wish your theater seat was equipped with a seat belt. But the horrors behind that infamous Red Door, filled with demonic figures who look like Kiss tour doubles, are of the purely surface-shattering variety. The only truly disturbing episode involves Josh being trapped in an MRI machine; anyone who has ever experienced being inside one of these hellish facilities will definitely have a flashback to their own panic attack, even if it doesn’t involve a monstrous figure being inside with you.

Scott Thiems’ script, based on a story by him and series co-creator Lee Whannell (who returns for a cameo as geek Specs), tries to infuse a ghostly trial with drama revolving around Josh’s lingering guilt and revelations about the father he never knew who is now clearly after him. But none of this has much impact, despite Wilson’s best efforts to provide character-driven texture.

Fans of the series will enjoy the reappearance of many characters from the other films, including the psychic Lin Shaye (she died in a previous installment, but death is no obstacle to cameos in films like this), although it is a shame that always good newcomer Byrne is relegated to a secondary role. Even Wilson gets less screen time than Simpkins, who is forced to carry the film despite his character’s burden of being a true loser. Fortunately, there’s Daniel, who provides much-needed comic juice to the otherwise haphazard goings-on, and Hiam Abbas (Inheritance), revealing his usual authority as Dalton’s art professor.

Patrick Wilson fans are familiar with his great musical theater turns in Broadway shows like The full one Monty and Oklahoma! will want to stick around for the end credits, including his vocals on a heavy metal track with Swedish rock band Ghost.