Insidious: Out of the Further (2026)
Directed by: Jacob Chase
Premise: The sixth film in the Insidious series. Gemma (Amelia Eve) is haunted by visions of her deceased mother. She discovers an ability to travel into a supernatural space known as The Further.
What Works: The Insidious series has been producing films consistently since 2011. The filmmakers behind the series have managed to keep up interest by interweaving past and present, delving into their characters, and expanding the story world. Out of the Further continues doing this, mostly stepping away from the continuity of the series to focus on new characters. That gives the sixth installment a fresh start. It’s still tonally in keeping with the series but Out of the Further does not feel redundant with the earlier entries. This is a jump scare movie and while seasoned horror viewers will anticipate some of the shocks they are nevertheless effective. Sound, or the absence of it, is used to set up and execute scares. Out of the Further is also shot well. Much of the movie takes place in the dark but the action is always discernable and the film has a spooky atmosphere. There are some standout images and set pieces, especially a sequence in which Gemma is trapped in a tunnel. Out of the Further owes a lot to A Nightmare on Elm Street and Poltergeist II. It repurposes elements of those films but does so in a way that feels specific to this film and the story bleeds the material world with the spiritual plane in ways that make internal sense.
What Doesn’t: To this point, the Insidious series has been distinguished by its characters. Most of these films have focused on the Lambert family and their spiritual guide Elise (Lin Shaye). Out of the Further does not involve the Lamberts at all and Elise returns mostly to deliver exposition. The Lamberts felt like real people dealing with an extraordinary situation. By comparison, the characters of Out of the Further feel a bit cliché and underwritten. The connections between Out of the Further and the previous Insidious movies are tenuous. While it takes the franchise in a new direction, Out of the Further is so removed from the other films that it feels like a standalone story that was fashioned into an Insidious sequel. A few of the details don’t make sense. Gemma figures out things intuitively that she has no way of knowing, especially when she tracks down the psychic played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers.
Bottom Line: Insidious: Out of the Further is an effective spook house movie. It’s weaker than some of the other Insidious pictures but the filmmakers do enough that is new to make this a fresh addition to the franchise and it’s mostly a frighting good time.
Episode: #1116 (September 13, 2026)