Released in 2011, Insidious of “horror king” James Wan quickly became one of the favorite horror movies around the world. After 12 years, Insidious has become a hit series and has a large fan base not inferior to The Conjuring.
And the latest film called Insidious: The Red Door (Vietnamese title: Devilish: Unknown Red Door) promises to extend the series of resounding successes of the brand.
The horror brand that made James Wan’s name
Not The Conjuring, but Insidious is the horror film franchise that James Wan has put the most effort in. After the success of the Saw series, the Australian filmmaker felt its characteristic gore and violence element could make many people uncomfortable. That’s why he decided to make Insidious (2011) to prove he could succeed with the spiritual horror genre.
Insidious had a first weekend in North America of 13.3 million USD against a budget of only 1.5 million USD. The film then hit the $100 million mark. Critics praised James Wan’s ability to create suspense. John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal writes: “What makes a movie so scary isn’t the thing that jumped out of the closet, it’s that you don’t know what’s lurking inside. The element of violence, gore, a lot of movies have lost their horror. We instinctively become more afraid of the unknown. Insidious proves that James Wan can take horror on a whole other level.”
After the success of Insidious, James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell quickly started working on the second part. The filmmaker revealed that Insidious: Chapter 2 will be even more terrifying as an upgrade from The Conjuring (2013): “I took a lot of things from Insidious to apply to The Conjuring and used the lessons from The Conjuring to making Insidious: Chapter 2”. The work had a large budget of 5 million USD but also earned more than 161 million USD.
Expanding the brand around “mistress” Elise
Although only a supporting character in the first two parts, the “mistress” Elise (Lin Shaye) received the love of the audience. The character has extensive knowledge of the Unknown Realm and regularly fights against demons. Therefore, after the story of the Lambert family ended, James Wan decided to expand the “Insidious universe” with Elise’s past exorcism.
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) marked the first time screenwriter Leigh Whannell sat in the director’s chair with a budget of up to 11 million USD. The film grossed $113 million and received rave reviews. IGN’s Daniel Krupa wrote: “Insidious: Chapter 3 is the most focused, dark and creepy installment of the series to date”.
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) is a story about Elise’s past from childhood to becoming a “mistress” and facing the demon from childhood. The film explores deeply about the Unknown Realm with many new details. This is also the highest grossing part of the brand with $ 167 million compared to a budget of $ 10 million.
Return to the original horror with Insidious: The Red Door
After 10 years of separation, the audience will see the Lambert family again and return to the most original fear of Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2 with Insidious: The Red Door. This time, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) have both forgotten about the Abyss and the disasters of the past. Dalton also started his studies at an art school.
However, old dreams and memories began to come back to haunt him. The red door has opened and the old demons have gradually reappeared. Dalton slowly returned to the Unknown Realm, unaware of the danger and evil spirits waiting to devour him. Without Elise to help, how will Josh and his son deal with everything?
Insidious: The Red Door also marks the directorial debut of Patrick Wilson. He said: “I am honored and delighted to be directing the Insidious sequel. This will provide a great opportunity to explain everything the Lambert family went through a decade ago, as well as explain Let’s decide the consequences of their choices. Let’s enter the Unknown Realm.”
Insidious: The Red Door is expected to follow the success of the previous 4 films with a total of more than 540 million USD worldwide. Many demons that have made viewers heart-stopping every year have re-appeared with a completely new story. At the same time, the film will open a new chapter for the Lambert family as well as reveal more mysteries about the Unknown Realm.
Insidious: The Red Door has early screenings from 18:00 Wednesday (July 12) and all day Thursday (July 13) and officially hits theaters on Friday (July 14) nationwide.
