Summary
- Blumhouse's promise of a break was broken with Insidious 6's announcement, defying expectations set just a year ago.
- Insidious 6's rapid release after The Red Door shows the franchise's strong box office returns trump quality concerns.
- The Insidious series needs a hiatus post-2025 to avoid declining quality and maintain its top horror franchise status.
The announcement of the upcoming sixth entry in the Insidious series betrays the most recent major update from Blumhouse about the franchise's future. In addition to the confirmation of its production, Insidious 6 has already been given a release date, which is set for August 29th, 2025. While the fifth chapter in the franchise, Insidious: The Red Door, seemingly closed the book on the Lambert family and their terrifying encounters with the denizens of The Further, but with news of the sixth chapter it's possible that they return.
Insidious 6 is separate from the upcoming spin-off Thread: An Insidious Tale, and as such it breaks a promise that was made less than a year ago by Blumhouse. The horror-focused production company has not yet released any details about the sixth chapter, so it remains to be seen if it is in fact a continuation of the Lamberts' story that has unfolded over the last 13 years. Yet another entry in the once-lauded franchise could turn out to be a mistake if its current trend of critical reception continues.
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Insidious 6 Confirmation Breaks Blumhouse's Promise To Give The Franchise A Break
Blumhouse plainly stated a new chapter wouldn't arrive any time soon
The advent of Insidious 6 stands contrary to the most recent update from Blumhouse about the franchise's future. In an exclusive interview with Discussing Film from July 2023, Jason Blum stated:
[The Red Door] is going to be the last we’re going to see of Insidious for a while. It may not be a forever rest, but it’s certainly going to be a very long rest. So, if someone comes up with some idea in 10 years, who knows? But there’s not a plan – as there has been with every prior Insidious movie – there’s no current plan in place for number six.
Blum made it as clear as possible that Insidious: The Red Door would act as a punctuation mark for the long-running horror series. In no uncertain terms, he stated that there was no plan in place for a sixth entry in the series, so it seems odd that they would be able to turn one around so quickly.
There is not yet any information about who will be writing or directing Insidious 6, but it does already have James Wan aboard as a producer. That indicates there will be at least some quality control in ensuring that the movie stays true to the franchise's established lore and horror hallmarks. It's possible that a new writer/director combo could inject some new life into the series, as long as there aren't any massive departures from what has made the series so popular with horror fans.
Why Insidious 6 Is Happening So Soon After The Red Door
The franchise's box office returns have remained strong
While the quality of the Insidious franchise has never returned to the heights of its original and terrifying movie, that has never seemed to impact the movie at the box office. With an ever-expanding mythology and lore behind it, the Insidious franchise appears to have a built-in audience, as evidenced by the incredible amount of profit the franchise has produced. That is likely the most significant reason for the quick turnaround on Insidious 6; the huge box office return for Insidious: The Red Door proved that the appetite for the franchise is apparently alive and well.
Insidious Franchise Box Office Returns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Movie | Year | Budget | Box Office Gross |
Insidious | 2010 | $1.5M | $100.1M |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013 | $5M | $161.9M |
Insidious: Chapter 3 | 2015 | $11M | $113M |
Insidious: The Last Key | 2018 | $10M | $167.9M |
Insidious: The Red Door | 2023 | $16M | $189.1M |
Each of the Insidious movies has grossed over $100 million at the box office, and given that the most expensive entry was budgeted at just $16 million, they have all been incredibly profitable. None of the four sequels/prequels have received the type of critical acclaim that the original garnered, but that hasn't seemed to matter. The two most profitable entries in the franchise have been the two most recent films, Insidious: The Last Key ($167.9 million) and Insidious: The Red Door ($189.1 million) despite those two generating the lowest Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer scores.
The Insidious Franchise Really Does Need A Hiatus After 2025
There are already signs of decline in quality
The wheels are already in motion on Insidious 6, but after it's released, Jason Blum needs to follow through on his promise from 10 months ago and put the franchise to bed for at least a few years. Insidious was a surprise smash hit when it was released in 2010, but since then each entry in the franchise has failed to come close to matching the quality of the original. Rotten Tomatoes certainly isn't the end-all be-all measure of quality, but as it aggregates the reviews from many critics, it provides some good insight into the consensus.
Insidious Franchise Rotten Tomatoes Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Movie | Year | Tomatometer Score | |
Insidious | 2010 | 67% | |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013 | 39% | |
Insidious: Chapter 3 | 2015 | 56% | |
Insidious: The Last Key | 2018 | 33% | |
Insidious: The Red Door | 2023 | 38% | |
The Insidious franchise needs to take a break in order to maintain its standing as a quality horror franchise in the minds of fans. There are plenty of examples of horror franchises starting off strong and then dropping off a cliff in quality as entries are added. The Halloween franchise is a great example; the original is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, but its sequels and reboots have been staggering disappointments.
After a long hiatus, the franchise had new life breathed into it with 2018's sequel Halloween, released a full 40 years after the original (although that movie's sequels were also widely panned). The franchise should take a similar approach by taking some time to conceive a fresh angle for the Insidious series. While it doesn't need to wait another 40 years, it should be put to rest for at least a few years after Insidious 6 is released to revisit the Lambert family or the demons they've encountered.
Source: Discussing Film, Rotten Tomatoes
Insidious
Created by Leigh Whannel, Insidious is a supernatural horror franchise that centers around a family plagued by demons from a realm called the Further that seek to take the life of those they haunt. The series continues to branch off but centrally involves the Lambert family, with the first film surrounding their struggle to save their son from their uninvited houseguests.
- Created by
- Leigh Whannell
- First Film
- Insidious
- Cast
- Patrick Wilson , Rose Byrne , Ty Simpkins , Lin Shaye , Leigh Whannell , Angus Sampson , Barbara Hershey
- Spin-offs (Movies)
- Thread: An Insidious Tale (2024)
- Character(s)
- Elise Rainier , Steven "Specs" , Josh Lambert , Renai Lambert , Dalton Lambert , Loraine Lambert
