Director: Jacob Chase
Starring: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell, Island Austin
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 107 mins

Insidious: Out of the Further is the sixth instalment in the long-standing horror series that’s been surprisingly consistent in terms of quality – there’s yet to be a bad entry. With Insidious: The Red Door thought to be the series finale, given how it provided closure on the Lambert family, nothing’s ever really ‘final’ in the film industry when you have a profitable property. This sixth entry is set after The Red Door and follows a young dental hygienist called Gemma (Amelia Eve), who witnessed her mother’s suicide as a child. Now that she has a daughter of her own, Maya (Island Austin), Gemma starts to get haunted by malevolent spirits once they see three strange-looking elderly people while walking to school.

Although it’s not on the level of the first three films, Insidious: Out of the Further is another entertaining instalment that expands the series in an interesting way. With the exception of the worryingly poor opening, it’s well directed by series newcomer Jacob Chase (who also writes the film), who crafts some decent scares and manages to sustain tension. While lots of the jump scares are familiar, Chase knows how to draw them out to keep audiences tense – a scene set in a dentist is particularly effective, and he crafts a particularly well-drawn villain. That said, he’s no James Wan or Leigh Whannell when it comes to scares and atmosphere, and while many have pointed to a sequence set in a pillow fort as the film’s strongest scare, it came across as quite silly to me, especially coming so quickly after Backrooms.

Amelia Eve is solid, if unremarkable as Gemma, although she shares a good chemistry with her daughter, Maya, with the young Island Austin turning in an excellent performance. Although Lin Shaye is mainly saddled with exposition, it’s still great to see her return as Elise. Sam Spruell is a highlight in an unexpected role and Joshua Lopez is brilliant as Lester, the chief of the three elderly people, who turn out to be acolytes of the villain. The score by series regular Joseph Bishara is solid, with one particularly memorable new synth-based theme.

While it’s far from groundbreaking, Insidious: Out of the Further is ultimately a fun outing and far better than a sixth instalment in a long-standing franchise has any right to be. It takes the series in an interesting new direction, should further sequels be commissioned (which I’m sure will be), and it’s certainly a stronger film than Insidious: The Last Key and probably on a par with The Red Door – that film is stronger in the writing department before it fumbles the third act, whereas this is more consistent throughout.