Insidious: Out of the Further Review: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Insidious: Out of the Further is a passable, occasionally creepy horror entry that leans hard on jump scares and familiar franchise tropes. Strong sound design and committed performances keep it watchable, even if it never truly gets under your skin.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Genre: Horror
Franchise Entry: 6th installment
Director: Jacob Chase
Cast: Amelia Eve, Lin Shaye, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers
Sixteen years after the original Insidious first scared audiences, the franchise is back with its sixth installment, Out of the Further. Directors James Wan and Leigh Whannell have mostly stepped back into producing roles this time, handing the reins to Jacob Chase, but the horror world they built still very much anchors the story.
What results is a film that delivers plenty of jump scares and a genuinely creepy visual style, even if it rarely strays far from the franchise’s established playbook. The story follows Gemma, played by Amelia Eve, a dental hygienist raising her daughter Maya in the same house where she grew up. That childhood home carries plenty of painful memories, and Gemma has always insisted she will never let it go.
But when supernatural forces begin targeting her and Maya, those old memories start resurfacing in disturbing ways, echoing the mental health struggles that once affected Gemma’s late mother. Of course, audiences quickly learn that what looked like inherited illness was actually something far more sinister, tied directly to the Further, the spirit realm at the center of the franchise’s mythology.
The story itself is fairly predictable, and there is little here that longtime horror fans will not see coming from a mile away. Much of that predictability comes from this being the sixth film in the series, but some of it also comes down to genuinely weak writing, particularly in how certain reveals are treated as surprises when they are anything but.
Still, if you are willing to embrace some silly dialogue, over-the-top ghostly figures, and a story that leans into genuine emotional stakes around family, there is a decent amount to enjoy here.
Where the film truly earns its scares is through sound design. The way sound is used throughout, especially in scenes involving a dentist’s chair, adds a level of dread that often outshines the film’s score. Speaking of that dentist chair, anyone with a fear of dental procedures may want to brace themselves, since the film leans hard into that particular anxiety.
The most unsettling visuals here are not from gore, but from close-up shots of grotesque, gnashing mouths and teeth, giving the film an icky, uncomfortable quality that works better than its larger supernatural set pieces.
To its credit, the film does not overuse this gross-out horror. It treats it as one tool among many rather than the entire experience, layering it in alongside more traditional jump scares. Some of these scares genuinely work, letting tension build before delivering a real jolt. Others feel like standard franchise business, a sudden noise, a dimmed room, and a wait for something to appear.
The cast helps keep the film grounded even when the writing wobbles. Amelia Eve brings real emotional weight to Gemma, making her fear and desperation feel believable rather than performative.
Lin Shaye’s return as Elise Rainier is a welcome connection to the franchise’s earlier chapters, and while her character is written in a way that could easily come across as silly, Shaye’s performance elevates the role into something genuinely enjoyable to watch.
The film works best when it trusts quieter, more emotional beats over loud supernatural spectacle, though unfortunately, it does not always have that confidence, often reaching for a jump scare instead of letting tension simmer naturally.
Similar Article: 7 Dogs Movie Review
By the film’s final stretch, this becomes its clearest weakness. The mythology keeps expanding, but the scares themselves remain largely familiar, rarely pushing into genuinely new territory.
That said, Insidious: Out of the Further is far from a bad horror film. It is a solid, watchable entry that delivers exactly what franchise fans are likely hoping for: some legitimately creepy visuals, a handful of effective jump scares, and a satisfying connection to the series’ earlier chapters.
It also appears to function as a self-contained story, wrapping things up neatly enough that it could work as a natural stopping point for the franchise.
Just do not expect this one to haunt you long after you leave the theatre. It is more likely to make you jump in your seat, glance behind you once, and then move on with your night.