Insidious: Out of the Further – Movie Review (3/5)

INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER is the sixth movie in the INSIDIOUS franchise. This time, we’re following a new family. Even though it is a tad too long, I enjoyed the new elements that made this installment very intriguing. Also, that opening scene is pure horror in a way-too-realistic kind. Read our full Insidious: Out of the Further movie review here!

INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER is coming to theaters now, and if you’ve enjoyed the Insidious franchise this far, I can’t imagine you won’t appreciate this one as well. As already revealed by the trailer, Elise (Lin Shaye) is in the cast. She’s a ghost (has been since the first movie of the franchise), so she’s helping from The Further now.

As much as this is a horror movie about ghosts, demons, and people able to leave their body when sleeping, this is also a psychological horror movie. The opening scene is pure dread and horror, which feels more like something out of a true crime documentary than anything fictional. Even as someone who grew up feeling safe, I can recognize the fear and caution of a child who is not.

Continue reading our Insidious: Out of the Further movie review below. Find it in theaters from August 21, 2026.

Elise is back to help

Insidious: Out of the Further was originally titled Insidious: The Bleeding World. Both titles make sense as they refer to the fact that “The Further” will now be bleeding into our world as things are able to leave the Further. In fact, not just things, but also entities. And as we know from the five previous movies, entities remaining in the Further are usually of a demonic kind. And definitely evil.

Well, with one exception: Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye).

According to Insidious lore, we all pass through The Further when we leave this world. For Elise, however, it became obvious that she needed to remain to continue helping living people trapped in the Further. Just as she did when she was still alive in the first movie.

For the record, Lin Shaye isn’t in this sixth Insidious movie all that much. She has screen time, of course, but she is also a ghost. This means that she has to use a living person to “talk through” at times. This person is portrayed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers, who becomes important as the story progresses.

To the Further and Back

In Insidious: Out of the Further, we meet a very strange-looking trio. The kind you would gladly cross the street to avoid. For our new main characters, Gemma (Amelia Eve) and Maya (Island Austin), it’s impossible. The trio of stalkers infiltrates their quiet suburb with the very clear purpose of getting them into the astral plane. They believe Gemma has a gift that can move things back and forth between the Further and this world.

Gemma doesn’t know this, but they are right. And a particularly nasty character in The Further has great plans for using her “gift”. Again, he is someone you could just as well have watched in a true crime documentary, as he comes across as a cult leader.

I don’t want to give away the entire plot, but in ways Gemma tried desperately to avoid, she practically turns into her own mother. Before all is said and done, she will have the answers she needs. So will her own daughter. It’s not simple or easy, but then again, dealing with the Further never was.

Also in the cast are Brandon Perea (Twisters), Sam Spruell (Alien: Earth), and Joseph Lopez (Passenger), to name just a few.

Watch Insidious: Out of the Further in theaters

Insidious: Out of the Further comes from writer-director Jacob Chase, who previously gave us the horror movie Come Play. That one was based on his own short film, but this Insidious movie was based on a story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Orphan, The Conjuring). As a result, both are (of course) credited as writers on this sixth Insidious movie.

Producers include the original filmmakers, writer Leigh Whannell & director James Wan, alongside Jason Blum and Oren Peli. Leigh Whannell created the entire franchise and also gets credit for this, as he should. Speaking of credits, make sure you stick around during the end credits. Yes, there is an end credit scene for Insidious: Out of the Further. It comes mid-end credits.

This particular franchise has always been one that hits me hard. I believe that there is more to this world than what we can see, so the idea of “The Further” speaks to that. With Insidious: Out of the Further, it also speaks to the fear that something could enter our world from the beyond. It’s also why I will never mess with a Ouija board, grab onto “a spirit hand“, or feel the need to say Candyman five times while looking into the mirror.

I do not mess with stuff like that. This movie forced me to face it, which means I was squirming and jumping in my seat several times. This is not least because I related to the core characters of this particular story. Hell, even the neighbors from across the street, who were a fun little element. This is not the best movie in the franchise, but I really enjoyed what it brought to the table, so I’m ready for more movies with these characters and their talents.

Insidious: Out of the Further is in theaters from August 21, 2026.

Details

Director: Jacob Chase
Writers: Jacob Chase (Screenplay) & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Story)
Cast: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Sam Spruell, Laura Gordon, Island Austin, Lin Shaye