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Insidious The Red Door Review: The only red door you’ll be looking for is the exit

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Ayaan Paul
Ayaan PaulJul 07, 2023 | 14:19

Insidious The Red Door Review: The only red door you’ll be looking for is the exit

The Red Door is the grand finale of the horror franchise, but it feels more like a whimper than a bang. Director Patrick Wilson takes the reins and attempts to dive into the haunting memories of the Lambert family, but the result is a snooze-fest wrapped in uninspired storytelling.

The supposedly final chapter of the franchise, feels like it's dragging its ghostly feet from start to finish, bringing back the original cast for one last terrifying adventure. While the movie maintains the franchise's familiar uneasiness, it ultimately falls short in delivering a compelling and engaging storyline.

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The film begins by catching unfamiliar audiences up to speed with flashback scenes from Chapter Two, where young Dalton, played by Ty Simpkins, helps his father Josh escape the Further and return home. The family decides to suppress their memories to prevent further astral projection, but old wounds are reopened when a death occurs, leading Dalton to college and the door to the Further to be opened once again. 

The script, penned by Scott Teems, presents the Lambert family's secrets as if they were groundbreaking revelations. Spoiler alert: they're not. The emotional connective tissue between every single character feels frustratingly worn out. 

The erosion of family bonds and the burden of suppressed memories are hardly groundbreaking themes, and the film's attempts to mine trauma fall flat. It's like watching a tired therapy session unfold on screen, complete with daddy issues and a paint-by-numbers exploration of the past.

While the series has always offered a peek into the world of astral projection and its impact on reality, The Red Door fails to capitalize on its most intriguing elements. Instead, it meanders through supernatural phenomena, as if lost in the Further itself. The father and son storylines drift frustratingly slowly, and both actor’s unconvincing performances come off as forced, leaving us twiddling our thumbs, eagerly waiting for the narratives to finally converge.

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Wilson, known for his commendable performances in both The Conjuring franchise as well as prior Insidious films, takes on the director's chair for the first time. While it's a logical progression, his efforts don't quite hit the mark. 

Maybe with a better script, Wilson's talents could have shone through. Unfortunately, the film feels like a three-hour ordeal crammed into a less-than-two-hour runtime, a cardinal sin in the fast-paced horror genre.

Sub-par editing moves the story erratically across the franchise's timeline without delving deeper into the surface-level ideas it presents. The lack of cohesiveness and the spiraling confusion ultimately hinder the film's impact. 

There is one scene that manages to elicit a genuine scare. Josh's MRI session, with a demon slithering around his head in the darkness, is the sole moment that demonstrates fantastic build-up and a perfectly timed scare. Sadly, it's a fleeting moment in a sea of mediocrity and the film relies too heavily on arbitrary attempts to frighten the audience.

The Red Door is an unfortunate misstep, offering little in the way of horror or entertainment. It's an underwhelming directorial debut that pales in comparison to the franchise's earlier successes. The film is so intrinsically tied to previous installments that it becomes almost entirely inaccessible to newcomers.

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For those seeking to delve deeper into the franchise's mythology, prepare to be disappointed. The film skims the surface, presenting ideas it has no intentions of exploring further. It's as if they misplaced all the potential opportunities to make us brick ourselves somewhere in the Further and couldn't find it in time for production.

The most excruciating part of the film came in the form of Patrick Wilson’s atrocious original song that accompanies its closing credits, that more than made up for the fleeting presence of good ‘ol Lipstick Face in its ability to make us tear our hair out to make it stop. 

Insidious: The Red Door suffers from a deplorable script, a disjointed narrative, and a failure to deliver (almost) any compelling scares. Despite its attempts to build upon the franchise's established elements, it falls short of its potential, leaving viewers with a feeling more akin to a lukewarm séance than the bone-chilling nightmare we were looking forward to.

Let's just say this film is proof that not every door leads to a satisfying conclusion. (you’re better off watching Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume from earlier this year if that’s what you’re looking for).

Last updated: July 07, 2023 | 14:19
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