I saw the first Insidious on half-filled seats back in 2011, and I remember the guy a couple of rows down screaming when the thing appeared behind Patrick Wilson’s head. No stingy music cue. No buildup. Simply red-demon just being there all along. That scene changed horror movie fans forever and made each sequel try to duplicate it.
So when I say that the sixth installment of the franchise has at least a decent premise, then believe me, because even the marketing team tries to ruin it.
In Insidious: Out of the Further, a twist lies at its core. Fifteen years of the franchise were devoted to people venturing into the Further, a kind of dark, astral basement full of tortured souls awaiting some kind of incarnation. Gemma, played by Amelia Eve, turns the tables on viewers: instead of exploring the Further, she takes the evil entities inside, and the demons learn about her talent. Once they know that a girl could get them from one plane of existence into another, our world becomes a playground of demons for this film.
That’s a perfect idea, indeed. You’ve turned a ghost house franchise into an invasion horror movie, giving the director a perfect reason to avoid reproducing his favorite blue hallway over and over. From a plot perspective, it is the most exciting film concept for the Insidious franchise since Wan was still directing it.
However, the official trailer that came out Wednesday was devoted mostly to a meeting.
This trailer reveals the Avengers-like crossover, in which every entity that was locked up in the further comes out into our world to conquer everything, until every single person dies in the process. Lin Shaye’s Elise Rainier puts it clearly for us: “when the dead rise… it’ll be the end of the living.” Shaye makes it look good because she is a most consistent element of each film of the franchise. In all likelihood, she will be one in this installment too.
But it seems like this trailer explains itself, showing silhouettes of villains recognizable to the audience, coming out at the end of the video as if they do not want to be missed. Lipstick Face Demon doesn’t require any special introduction. He himself is a perfect entrance.
But you should go back and take a look at the teaser of April. In that one, it was clear what this film was about, while this one just lost it somewhere. The highlight of the teaser was the endless pillow fort, a kind of tunnel made of pillows, which embodies what Gemma is capable of. The kid’s bedroom gradually turns into another dimension, and you can feel something of Talk to Me in it, aside from classic scary moments characteristic of this franchise. That is the film I would like to see in the movie theater. An endless pillow fort terrifies me more than the roll call ever does.
Jacob Chase should really be mentioned with gratitude here, because I’m saying it as one who enjoyed Come Play more than most people did. That film knew how to make even a phone screen a doorway. Chase managed to make the further become House of Leaves geography, making it the most intriguing thing about this idea over the past ten years. He co-wrote a story with David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick, while Sam Spruell introduces a new villain named Cyrus, which means someone wanted to create something rather than collect.
But one element gave me some confidence that this movie will be good – Joseph Bishara returned with the music. Bishara has been working since the debut movie, and his violins have accompanied most of the scenes in this franchise more than the screenplays. So, if Bishara is in this film, the floor is under.
The only real concern is the rating: the movie is rated PG-13 due to bloody images and a terrifying atmosphere. It’s the standard practice here, and of course, it is correct financially. But you’re saying that the hell goes to the suburbs and nothing bloody happens? The scale and the restraint are opposites, and one of them should win in the end.
It won’t affect the box office anyway, because all of them know it well. Five movies, about $731.5 million earned worldwide, with the studio predicting that the total sum will pass the $740 million mark. The Red Door received a C+ CinemaScore and 37% on RT, on a $16 million budget, but it is still the most profitable horror movie of the year. Critics never killed this franchise. Bad word of mouth didn’t either.
That’s why the marketing bugs me. With such protection, you could afford yourself some mystery rather than selling ads. Sony could build a trailer on a mother bringing things home. Instead, they decided to build it around the lineup and posters of villains, plus a demon-shaped popcorn bucket.
So, that’s my analysis before the release. I believe that it is the most exciting idea for this franchise after 2010, and three months of marketing turned this idea into a greatest hits album. This team with Eve, Perea, and Shaye can make another three movies. Sony promises us that it is the second and last trailer, so this is the whole pitch until the premiere.
Insidious: Out of the Further is releasing on Aug. 21. I’ll be there Thursday with a bottle of soda and a bucket of popcorn.
