Insidious is a series of American horror films created by Leigh Whannell. There are four films in the franchise—Insidious (2010), Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and Insidious: The Last Key (2018)—which have grossed a total of $539 million worldwide on a combined budget of $26.5 million.
Insidious | |
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![]() Official on-screen film series logo | |
Based on | Characters created by Leigh Whannell |
Starring |
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Music by | Joseph Bishara |
Release date | 2010–present |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $26.5 million (Total of 4 films) |
Box office | $539.4 million (Total of 4 films) |
The first two films were directed by James Wan, the third by Whannell, who also served as the screenwriter for all four films. Adam Robitel directed the fourth installment. FilmDistrict released the first and second films, while Focus Features and Universal Pictures handled the third and fourth, respectively.
The first two films center on a couple who, after their son mysteriously enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral plane, are continuously haunted by demons from a forbidden realm known as the Further until they take from the family what they want most: life. The third film, a prequel, focuses on the same psychic who helped the family; this time she comes to the aid of a young girl who calls out to the dead, and the fourth follows her when her own family becomes haunted. All plots are depicted as case files of demonologists, and focuses on people who unwillingly make contact with the demonic world.
Insidious was directed by Wan, written by Whannell, and starred Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral dimension. The film was released in theaters on April 1, 2011,[1] and is FilmDistrict's first theatrical release. A sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2, was released on September 13, 2013, with Wan returning as director and Whannell returning as screenwriter. The film's success led to it being used as inspiration for a maze in Universal's 2013 Halloween Horror Nights.
Insidious: Chapter 2 was also directed by Wan and written by Whannell. The film stars Wilson and Byrne reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released on September 13, 2013. It was a box-office success, grossing over $160 million worldwide, but received mixed reviews.
Insidious: Chapter 3 is the third film in the series, written and directed by Whannell. The film is a prequel to the haunting of the Lambert family in the first two films, and stars Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney, Lin Shaye, and Whannell. The plot follows a girl—Quinn—who is haunted by a demon after trying to call out to her mother Lillith, who died. It was released on June 5, 2015.
Prior to the release of Insidious: Chapter 3, Whannell was asked, "If there is a Insidious: Chapter 4, would that be a sequel to Chapter 3, another prequel to the original or will it continue in this timeline or go to a whole new timeline?" Whannell replied:
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it yet. But for the purposes of this interview, I'll say that I'd like to explore the time between this film and the first film. That whole area there where Elise has rediscovered her gift, I think you could have a lot of adventures before she arrives. So I think there is a lot of room there. We've kind of established Lin [Shaye] in this particular film as kind of this superhero, so that would be kind of interesting to explore in the other films."[2]
On May 16, 2016, it was announced that Chapter 4 would have an October 20, 2017 release date with Whannell writing, Jason Blum, Oren Peli and Wan producing, Adam Robitel directing, and Shaye returning to reprise her role as Elise Rainier. The plot centered on the Rainier haunting, after a young Elise opened a forbidden red door and unwillingly allowed a extremely dangerous spirit known as the Key Demon to enter the human world.[3][4] On October 11, 2016, the film was given a new release date of January 2018.
In October 2020, it was announced that a direct sequel to The Last Key was in development. Patrick Wilson will serve as director in addition to reprising his starring role, while Scott Teems serves as screenwriter, based on an original story by Leigh Whannell. The premise will center around a now-grown Dalton Lambert as he goes off to college, but the nasty demons of his past return to tear Dalton's college trip apart, with Ty Simpkins reprising the role. Rose Byrne has also been confirmed to reprise her role as Renai Lambert. Jason Blum, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Oren Peli will serve as producers. The project will be produced by Blumhouse Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures. It is scheduled for a July 7, 2023 release.[5][6][7]
In January 2018 during a press interview for The Last Key, Jason Blum stated that a crossover film between Insidious and Sinister had previously been in development, tentatively entitled Insinister. He stated that he personally believed it had potential for re-entering development in the future, stating that "we're going to cross our worlds at some point... We're going to try."[8][9]
Film | U.S. release date | Directed by | Screenplay by | Story by | Produced by |
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Insidious | April 1, 2011 (2011-04-01) | James Wan | Leigh Whannell | Leigh Whannell | Oren Peli, Jason Blum & Steven Schneider |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | September 13, 2013 (2013-09-13) | James Wan & Leigh Whannell | Oren Peli & Jason Blum | ||
Insidious: Chapter 3 | June 5, 2015 (2015-06-05) | Leigh Whannell | Leigh Whannell | Oren Peli, James Wan & Jason Blum | |
Insidious: The Last Key | January 5, 2018 (2018-01-05) | Adam Robitel | Oren Peli, James Wan, Jason Blum & Leigh Whannell | ||
Insidious: Fear the Dark | July 7, 2023 (2023-07-07) | Patrick Wilson | Scott Teems | ||
This section shows characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
Character | Films | |||||
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Insidious | Insidious: Chapter 2 | Insidious: Chapter 3 | Insidious: The Last Key | Insidious: Fear the Dark | ||
2010 | 2013 | 2015 | 2018 | 2023 | ||
Humans | ||||||
Elise Rainier | Lin Shaye | Lin Shaye Lindsay SeimY |
Lin Shaye | Lin Shaye Ava KolkerY, Hana HayesY |
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Steven "Specs" | Leigh Whannell | |||||
Tucker | Angus Sampson | |||||
Josh Lambert | Patrick Wilson Josh FeldmanYP |
Patrick Wilson Garrett RyanYP |
Garrett RyanY | Patrick WilsonC | Patrick Wilson | |
Renai Lambert | Rose Byrne | Rose ByrneC | Rose Byrne | |||
Dalton Lambert | Ty Simpkins | Ty SimpkinsC | Ty Simpkins | |||
Loraine Lambert | Barbara Hershey | Barbara Hershey Jocelin DonahueY |
Barbara HersheyV | |||
Foster Lambert | Andrew Astor | |||||
Kali Lambert | Brynn Bowie & Madison Bowie | |||||
Carl | Steve Coulter Hank HarrisY |
Steve Coulter | ||||
Quinn Brenner | Stefanie Scott | |||||
Sean Brenner | Dermot Mulroney | |||||
Melissa Rainier | Spencer Locke | |||||
Imogen Rainier | Caitlin Gerard | |||||
Christian Rainier | Bruce Davison Pierce PopeY, Thomas RobieY |
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Insidious entities | ||||||
Parker "Marilyn" Crane The Bride in Black |
Philip Friedman | Tom Fitzpatrick Tyler GriffinY |
Tom Fitzpatrick | |||
Lipstick-Face Demon | Joseph Bishara | Joseph Bishara | ||||
Long Haired Fiend | J. LaRose | |||||
Michelle Crane The Woman in White |
Danielle Bisutti | |||||
The Man Who Can't Breathe | Micheal Reid MacKay | |||||
KeyFace | Javier Botet |
Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
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Composer | Cinematographer(s) | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
Insidious | Joseph Bishara | David M. Brewer John R. Leonetti |
James Wan Kirk M. Morri |
IM Global FilmDistrict Stage 6 Films Alliance Films Haunted Movies James Wan Films |
FilmDistrict | 102 min | |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | John R. Leonetti | Kirk M. Morri | FilmDistrict Stage 6 Films James Wan Films Entertainment One Oren Peli Productions Blumhouse Productions |
105 min | |||
Insidious: Chapter 3 | Brian Pearson | Timothy Alverson | Stage 6 Films Focus Features Entertainment One Blumhouse Productions |
Focus Features | 97 min | ||
Insidious: The Last Key | Toby Oliver | Stage 6 Films Universal Pictures Blumhouse Productions |
Universal Pictures | 103 min | |||
Insidious: Fear the Dark | TBA | TBA | TBA | Screen Gems Stage 6 Films Blumhouse Productions |
Sony Pictures Releasing | TBA |
Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref. | |||
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North America | Other territories | Worldwide | North America | |||||
Insidious | April 1, 2011 | $54,009,150 | $43,000,000 | $97,009,160 | #1,486 | $1.5 million | [10] | |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | September 13, 2013 | $83,586,447 | $78,332,871 | $161,919,318 | #853 | $5 million | [11] | |
Insidious: Chapter 3 | June 5, 2015 | $52,218,558 | $60,765,331 | $112,983,889 | #1,545 | $10 million | [12] | |
Insidious: The Last Key | January 5, 2018 | $67,347,895 | $100,140,258 | $167,488,153 | #1,147 | $10 million | [13] | |
Total | $257,162,050 | $282,238,450 | $539,400,510 | $26.5 million | ||||
List indicator(s)
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Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[14] |
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Insidious | 66% (177 reviews)[15] | 52 (30 reviews)[16] | B |
Insidious: Chapter 2 | 40% (124 reviews)[17] | 40 (30 reviews)[18] | B+ |
Insidious: Chapter 3 | 59% (124 reviews)[19] | 52 (26 reviews)[20] | B+ |
Insidious: The Last Key | 33% (106 reviews)[21] | 49 (23 reviews)[22] | B- |
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