Just like a good horror villain the Insidious movie franchise just refuses to die. No matter what characters come and go or what crazy plotlines screenwriters insert into it the franchise just keeps going and constantly draws a cinematic audience to each film.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the franchise is how it is grown from being a simple film about a family living in a haunted house to where it is today where the expert Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye – There’s Something About Mary) has become an explorer of the mystical dimension known as The Further.
To keep things fresh different writers have introduced some interesting ingredients into the mix over the years – including a criminal element in Insidious: The Last Key – and to be honest some have worked and some have not. The same can be said about the films themselves – sometimes the simple things work while the over explanations of The Further have been so dull they have the potential to put someone to sleep. On the flipside of that the visuals depicting The Further in Insidious: The Red Door were some pure cinematic brilliance.
Now comes Insidious: Out Of The Further which sees the plot move away from Lambert family and focuses on Gemma Hall (Amelia Eve – The Haunting Of Ely Manor) a dentist and single mother who has had tried to move on with her life after a traumatic event involving her mother Ingrid (Laura Gordon – Saw V) when she was young.
Now things seem to be getting strange for Gemma once again. She and her daughter, Maya (Island Austin – I Can Only Imagine 2), are seeing weird elderly people and experiencing nightmarish situations. Things really go too far though when Gemma literally has a patient from hell visit her at the dentistry clinic.
While desperate for answers she slipped a clue which helps her find Clare (Maisie Richarson-Sellers – The Kissing Booth 2) who acts as a conduit for the woman with all the answers – Elise Rainer.
Taking the focus away from the Lambert family does come at a cost for this Jacob Chase (The Girl In The Woods) directed film. While the opening act of the film will manage to hold the interest of hardcore supernatural genre fans it is easy to see that this film goes to a whole new level when Elise Rainer is introduced into the plot.
The character development of both Gemma and Maya is what makes that First Act work however scenes such as the sofa fort nightmare just drag on for far too long. I should also warn you that if you have a fear of dentists, like I do, then you are going to find some of scenes with Gemma and her patient from hell particularly difficult to watch. I don’t flinch very often during horror films but I do have to admit that I was looking at the floor a lot during those sequences which I guess is some twisted way could be seen as Jacob Chase doing his job of scaring the audience.
His screenplay goes into overdrive though once Maya’s life is placed in danger and it comes down to Gemma, Elise and Gemma’s police officer boyfriend Nick (Brandon Perea – Nope) to save her. The suspense that Chase manages to bring into the film here is phenomenal and it makes you wonder why there couldn’t have been more of it early on in the film. It made me realise that perhaps the biggest issue with Act One is that it seems to re-visit old ground that has been previously explored in this franchise.
Credit must also be paid to the make-up special effects team for what they did in Act Two. The work that they have done to make the likes of Cyrus (Sam Spruell – Fargo) and Lester (Joseph Lopez – One) truly terrifying is amazing and you have to think that perhaps their work here will warrant some award nominations later on this year.
Also carrying this film at times are the performances of Amelia Eve, Island Austin and Lin Shaye who put in some remarkable work and never fall into that ‘it’s just a horror film’ trap. Special mention must also be made of Laura Gordon who is brilliant in some of the harsher scenes early on in the film. Australian audiences have known since Em 4 Jay just how talented Gordon is and it has been great to see her show that to the world over recent years.
While this isn’t the best film in the franchise Insidious: Out Of The Further does overcome a slow start to deliver a scare-worthy final act that shows that there is still life in this old dog.
