2010 marked the beginning of Insidious, which many people consider to be one of the most terrifying franchises of all time. The first movie was directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell and features the story of Josh and Renai Lambert, a couple who have just moved into an old house with their kids. This family’s life turns upside down after Dalton, one of the little ones, enters an unexplained state of coma that unleashes a series of paranormal events in their new home.
Insidious quickly became a box office hit, and its popularity kicked off a franchise that is still active to this day. It currently spans five films that performed very well at the box office, grossing over $606 million worldwide. However, this was not the case in terms of reviews; some of the franchise’s installments enjoyed rave reviews, while others were harshly panned by critics. Here is a look back at all the films in the franchise, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score.
Note: for reference, the Tomatometer score includes reviews by the site’s approved critics. The Popcornmeter is the new name of the Audience Score.
5 Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
33% Tomatometer Score, 49% Popcornmeter Score
Insidious: The Last Key is the fourth installment of this horror franchise, and so far, the one with the worst reviews. But despite its poor critical reception, and the fact that many people considered that the film did not do much to vindicate the franchise, Adam Robitel’s movie managed to emerge as the second highest-grossing film in the series, earning $167 million worldwide.
Insidious: The Last Key stars Lin Shaye, who once again reprises her role as parapsychologist Elise Rainier, alongside Angus Sampson, writer Leigh Whannell, Spencer Locke, and Caitlin Gerard. In this production, Elise confronts demons and paranormal entities in order to help a family that has just moved into their new home. However, this task is different and far more personal: the house used to be Elise’s childhood home in which, many years ago, she had her first encounter with a demon. Insidious: The Last Key is a horror prequel that takes place after the events of Chapter 3.
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4 Insidious: The Red Door (2023)
39% Tomatometer Score, 69% Popcornmeter Score
- Release Date
- July 7, 2023
Insidious: The Red Door is the fifth and most recent installment of the franchise. For many, this production was meant to recover the quality of this horror franchise, something that got lost over the years. However, the film failed to do so, and reviews were not so good. The production marked Patrick Wilson’s directorial debut, who also heads the cast alongside Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Andrew Astor, Steve Coulter, and Leigh Whannell. Interestingly, though, the film is the highest-grossing entry in the entire franchise with a box office gross of $189.1 million.
The unexpectedly scary Insidious: The Red Door reintroduces the Lambert family, last seen by audiences back in the franchise’s second installment. Several years have passed since Josh was possessed, and although everyone’s lives took a turn for the worse, they all managed to repress any memories of their paranormal events. However, evil spirits come back to haunt the Lamberts once again, so Josh and his son Dalton dive into their memories as they explore The Further, trying to put an end to their curse once and for all.
3 Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
39% Tomatometer Score, 57% Popcornmeter Score
The overwhelming success of Insidious back in 2010 led to the development of its first sequel, released two years later. Insidious: Chapter 2 features James Wan and Leigh Whannell once again serving as director and writer, respectively. The film is the franchise’s third most successful entry with a box office performance of $161.9 million.
The film brings the Lambert family back to the silver screen, shortly after the events that took place in the first installment. With the spirits having left Dalton’s body, the Lamberts are ready to move on with their lives and never look back, unaware of the fact that now it is Josh who is possessed. However, things take yet another turn for the worse after the family moves into Josh’s childhood home, where they are faced with new and terrifying entities that put their future in jeopardy. The film is the most underrated entry of the entire franchise, basically because of its villain.
2 Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
56% Tomatometer Score, 51% Popcornmeter Score
The third film in the Insidious franchise marked the directorial debut of Leigh Whannell, who had previously served as a writer. James Wan produced the film along with Jason Blum and Oren Peli. Insidious: Chapter 3 is the first production in the film series that is not centered on the Lambert family, as it is a prequel, featuring events that occur three years before the original film.
It follows Quinn Brenner, a teenager who believes her late mother is trying to contact her from the afterlife. Not knowing how to proceed, she contacts parapsychologist Elise Rainier, who initially turns down the job. However, when the girl is possessed by a paranormal entity, Elise has no other choice but to use her gifts to battle the dead one more time in order to save Quinn. Lin Shaye stars in this production alongside Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney, Angus Sampson, and Whannell himself. Insidious: Chapter 3 garnered considerably better reviews than the previous sequel, and grossed over $112.9 million worldwide.
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1 Insidious (2011)
67% Tomatometer Score 62% Popcornmeter Score
So far, and as it tends to happen with many film franchises, the movie that kicked off the Insidious universe is still the highest rated by critics, with a score of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its success back in 2011 (it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010, but in 2011 it was released in theaters) makes a lot of sense, especially considering that Wan and Whannell had already worked together on Saw, another of the horror genre’s most popular franchises.
Considered one of the scariest films of all time, Insidious introduces the origin story of the haunted Lambert family. It stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, and Lin Shaye in their franchise debuts. The film not only earned rave reviews but also became a blockbuster that grossed over $100 million worldwide, which was essential for the careers of the actors and filmmakers involved in it. Following this hit, James Wan went on to create The Conjuring, which is considered the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time.