The real horror is trauma. That’s a popular refrain in the world of scary movies. More than ever, horror has sought to delve deeper into the human psyche and thread the familiar pains that we all experience into stories of the supernatural, the monstrous, and the unbelievable. And that’s resulted in many wonderful films. But—it also results in the great excitement with which I share that Insidious: Out of the Further is NOT one of those movies. And that’s not to say it doesn’t get deep, or that its main characters aren’t haunted by the very human pains of their existence. But in Insidious: Out of the Further, the real horror is demons, and trauma is one note deftly threaded into the symphony of the movie—allowing both for poignant moments of anguish AND for the pure fun that is a buffet of creepy monsters menacing the main characters and the audience in new and creative ways. Join us as we walk further into our full review of Insidious: Out of the Further.
Insidious: Out of the Further introduces us to a new, complicated family that’s entangled with the Further. Wisely, the franchise doesn’t spend too long languishing in look-backs and nostalgia. Insidious: Out of the Further winks at past Insidious entries, but moves boldly forward to tell a fresh story all its own. And it’s the mark of a good franchise that completely new characters can inhabit the world, but the throughlines are so well-entrenched yet able to evolve that the coherency of the chapters remains strong. This time, it’s single-mother Gemma, played by Amelia Eve, and her young daughter, Maya, played by Island Austin, who take center stage in the story.
As mentioned above, Gemma really works as the hero of our tale, because she’s both a woman haunted by her own relationship with her mother, one that she’s tried so hard not to replicate with her daughter… And a dental hygienist. It sounds funny when I write it. But what I mean is that there’s a lot to unpack emotionally in Gemma’s trauma, BUT Insidious: Out of the Further never loses sight of its purpose: to thrill, scare, and entertain. And what better place to do all of that than in the scariest place of all—the dentist’s chair… now surrounded by demonic entities. It’s in this careful weighing of dualities and well-handled layering of purposes that Insidious: Out of the Further creates one delectably watchable movie.
Gemma also brings to the table a new version of what Insidious does best: the slow, creepy corruption of even the kindest-hearted, most normal people by the Further. Gemma isn’t ever technically fully “possessed” by any one demon. But the exposure to the darkness changes her in palpable, scary ways that Amelia Eve conveys on our screens in a tremendous performance. It’s like we’re watching parts of Gemma’s heart lock away throughout the movie, even as she fights to access them, to keep connecting with her daughter, but no longer can. And in those subtle ways, we see that perhaps the real horror is, a little bit, depression and trauma. But, in this way, folded among claustrophobic Further mazes that chill us, grinning demons thirsty for blood, and whatever is going on in that man’s mouth (help!!) it really works. We also want to give full kudos also to Island Austin, who is a young actress who can truly act.
Then, of course, there’s the plot of the movie. Insidious: Out of the Further takes the idea of “Travelers” one step… further. Gemma is so important because not only can she move in and out of the Further, but she can physically bring things back and forth with her. And we can see how that might be appealing to the demons and spirits trapped in that hellish realm. This progression of the human x Further connection feels natural and not contrived, and it feels like a very clever expansion to the world.
This power plotline also allows Insidious: Out of the Further to bring back the incredible Elise Rainier, played by horror icon Lin Shaye. Elise, as always, is the comforting heart of the franchise. Her presence reassures us maybe things WILL be okay and that’s always necessary among the horrors. Shaye knocks her performance out of the park as usual. And Elise’s prescence is helpful, but not overpowered, striking just the right notes. Elise also brings with her new character, Clare, played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Clare is in a word, “AWESOME.” She’s a tattoo-artist medium who has a deep relationship with Elise, the only spirit that Clare lets channel through her. The pair also communicate in Clare’s mind all of the time. It’s a neat relationship we hope to see more of… should the Insidious franchise continue.
Finally, pushing everything forward is the demon, Cyrus. Unlike most demons in Insidious‘ world who are silent, Cyrus has a HAUNTING voice that trembles up the spine. It’s the perfect sound to give demons after so long of mostly quiet. Oftentimes, you can hear, but not see Cyrus as he haunts Gemma. And, of course, as with all demons in Insidious‘ world, his look is exceptional. Demon design is one of our favorite parts of these movies and Insidious does not disappoint—the long black hair, the blindfold fused into his face, the metallic, pointed nail covers. It’s a great, goth look.
We also enjoy that Cyrus has more of a human bend than most of the demons we’ve seen in the past. And that’s because he was alive… As one powerful human. In a sense, Cyrus appears as the Dark Elise. He came to know the Further, but decided to do all the wrong things with that knowledge. Of course, being in the Further has sharpened the worst parts of his humanity: greed, anger, and the desire to control. In Insidious: Out of the Further, he’s desperate to bring the Further into our world, something we’ve never yet seen happen…
As we conclude our Insidious: Out of the Further review, I would be remiss not to mention the exquisite things this movie does with light and sound. So often what we can see and what we can’t, and what we can hear but not yet see, played an enormous role in how scary scenes became. The play of obscuring and revealing was incredibly done. There were plenty of terrifying scenes of spectacle in this movie, but the simplest scares, a light flickering to life, a few faint whispers in the dark, were wonderfully effective. Full kudos to writer-director Jacob Chase. We also have to say that some moments were just laugh-out-loud hilarious—and we always appreciate that in our horror movies.
If we have any complaints about the movie, it’s that we’d have loved to spend a little more time with characters other than Gemma and Maya. For instance, Clare, was such an immediatly fascinating character, but we didn’t get to learn too much about her or understand her full story. It’s clear she and Elise have history, but it’s mostly a side-note. Looking at the franchise as a whole, we’d also love to see Insidious leave behind the suburban existence/parent-child perspective to tell other stories in the world. Although Insidious: Out of the Further felt like a fresh entry, it did return to walk the similar path of the struggle of connection and understanding in familal ties.
Insidious: Out of the Further was a fun entry into the world of Insidious. At the end of the movie, we felt like we’d been thrilled, scared, moved, and, overall, had a great time. We’d watch another six Insidious movies if they are as delightful as Insidious: Out of the Further.
Insidious: Out of the Further releases on August 21. Tickets are on sale now.