It isn’t every day that a Blumhouse sequel falls under fire, so if the rumors are to be believed, this might be a shock to the system for the production company, which has been at the forefront of the horror genre for years. Hits and misses are part and parcel of any production company, and it looks like Insidious: The Red Door (originally marketed under the working title Insidious: Fear the Dark), is headed for the latter category.
As the saying goes: you can’t win ’em all. Apparently, anyone putting all their eggs in one basket and holding out hope for The Red Door to turn the tide for washed-up supernatural horrors should be redirecting their efforts.
A week ago, Blumhouse dropped the film’s official trailer, which wasn’t much to look at. In summary, it lacked the suspense that we’re accustomed to with both Blumhouse and the Insidious franchise as a whole. There weren’t any particularly defining moments that weren’t identical to scenes from the last four installments.
While we’ll admit that Patrick Wilson always grabs our attention, it’s starting to become more apparent that The Conjuring remains his strongest performance and the fine art of directing isn’t for everyone. Comments under the original tweet seem to agree that The Red Door isn’t looking its best.
Insidious: The Red Door will act as a direct sequel to Insidious (2010) and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), welcoming Ty Simpkins, Wilson, Andrew Astor, Rose Byrne, and Lin Shaye back to reprise their roles from previous films. Hiam Abbass, Sinclair Daniel, Peter Dager, and Jarquez McClendon have also joined the cast in undisclosed roles.
It isn’t looking too good for Wilson’s directorial debut, but maybe we can chalk this up to personal preference and assume that the masses actually found the trailer to be a promising indication of what’s to come. If first impressions are anything to go on (and they usually are), don’t be surprised if we don’t get another Insidious after this.
We’ll find out for ourselves if these criticisms are to be believed when Insidious: The Red Door arrives in theaters on July 7, 2023.