The Insidious franchise has kept fans coming back for over a decade, with its twisty take on the haunted house genre. The fifth movie in the series, Insidious: The Red Door, picks a decade after the events of 2013’s Chapter 2, with Patrick Wilson reprising his role as John Lambert while also making his directorial debut. The newest addition to the franchise is in theaters now, but critics were able to screen the movie ahead of its release. While they had some positive things to say about Wilson’s turn at the helm, the critics also seemed to agree on the film’s shortcomings.
The Insidious: The Red Door cast also features the return of Ty Simpkins and Rose Byrne as Dalton and Renai Lambert, respectively. From what we know about the fifth movie, Dalton will be forced to return to the Further when demons from his past resurface when he heads off to college. Let’s see what the critics are saying, starting with Leigh Monson of AV Club, who grades the movie a C-, saying The Red Door retreads old iconography and fails to offer anything new to the story’s canon. The critic continues:
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast calls the flick “a major disappointment,” made worse by its swampy visual aesthetic that looks like it was filmed “inside of a garbage disposal.” This critic also wants to see more from Patrick Wilson as a director, but in terms of The Red Door, he says skip this one:
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rates Insidious: The Red Door 2.5 skulls out of 5, noting that while this supposed final chapter doesn’t provide a sense of finality to the Further or its ghostly inhabitants, it does offer closure to the Lambert family’s story. The critic says:
Aaron Neuwirth of We Live Entertainment gives the movie a 5 out of 10, agreeing that The Red Door provides some quality ideas, but fails to bring anything fresh to the series. It’s not all that scary, but it tries, the critic says, writing:
Tom Jorgensen of IGN is more satisfied than the previous critics with the fifth and possibly final installment, rating it a “Good” 7 out of 10, even if it relies too heavily on jump scares. He says:
While the critics may not think this was one of the best horror movies of all time, they do seem to appreciate Patrick Wilson’s directorial efforts. The Rotten Tomatoes numbers align with the above assessments, with Insidious: The Red Door garnering just a 42% Fresh rating. Meanwhile, the Audience Score was more forgiving, standing at 71% on the day of release.