The GBHBL Definitive Ranking of the Insidious Franchise

Created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan, Insidious is a horror franchise that started in 2010, with the latest coming out in 2023. It features five films and has proven to be insanely successful, telling stories about another dimension called the Further and the beings that exist within. Some of which are demonic and looking for a wandering body to inhabit in the real world.

The first two films told the story of the Lambert family and their dealings with the Further. The second film served as a prequel, pushing a side character into the main role, something the fourth would also do. Finally, the fifth movie brought the story back full circle to the Lambert family.

We’ve watched them all. We’ve reviewed them all, so it’s time for our definitive ranking of the Insidious franchise. Based off our original review scores, if two films score the same, they are positioned by which one we’d rather watch again.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)
Our score: 3/10

Scene by scene, sequence by sequence, Insidious: The Red Door gets progressively worse. Resulting in the poorest entry in the series so far. Filled with the laziest of jump scares, the most half-hearted attempts at creating emotion, and the most lacklustre of resolutions. If anyone is hoping for more detail about the infamous demonic entity or the Further, this movie is going to really disappoint.

Lacking interesting story beats, feeling far too familiar, and with some really awkward moments.

Which brings us to the biggest crime of all and that is how Insidious: The Red Door just isn’t scary. It’s packed with jump scares, so if that’s your jam, you’re going to get your fill here. Yet, even then, Insidious: The Red Door has some of the laziest and unrewarding ones of the entire franchise. Couple this with the total lack of tension and dread, something the franchise was really good at doing, and this movie starts to really feel like a chore.

Read our full review here.

Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Our Score: 5.5/10

The concept of a prequel and a film that focuses more on the character Elise was a good idea, but this prequel tries to do way too much. Instead of just focusing on Elise, it throws in a new family, and it all becomes muddled.

Not only that, Insidious: Chapter 3 just looks and feels really different compared to the first 2 and it’s noticeably lacking their stellar cinematography. Not only that but it almost entirely depends on painfully cheap jump scares that are all too predictable. Pretty much every moment is ruined with a jump scare.

It’s well acted but lacks the intense, creepy soundtrack of the original two and goes for something more subtle. A disappointing entry.

Read our full review here.

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
Our score: 7/10

Insidious: The Last Key is an improvement over Insidious: Chapter 3 that is for certain. Simply thanks to the fact that it focuses on the backstory of Elise. Lin Shayne delivers her best performance yet. She proves that once again she’s worthy of having these movies revolve around her.

However, first and foremost this is a horror movie and it’s meant to be more about the scares rather than emotional scenes. The Last Key fails to generate fear in the ways that the first two managed so well. On the whole, it is much quieter and more subtle with its approach. It does deliver a creepy atmosphere at times though. When the scares do come, they are mostly in the form of the dreaded jump-scare. Some are good, but this isn’t as a film that will keep you up at night with the lights on.

Read our full review here.

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
Our score: 7/10

There is a nice feeling of dread/suspense in most sections of the film and plenty of your typical, but done well, jump scares dotted around. None of them feel too corny though and a clever use of camera angles, along with some wonderfully atmospheric music and sound add a lot of depth to the movie. The story is also well told and the actors do a decent job of being believable while the location along with sound is suitably eerie.

If you have seen the first movie, you should watch this just to make sense of everything you saw before and you will probably enjoy it.

Read our full review here.

Insidious (2010)
Our score: 8/10

Insidious is an original haunted house horror movie that shares elements with previous horror titles such as Poltergeist and House on Haunted Hill. Its jump scares are effective because of the creepy soundtrack and the ways in which its filmed and builds tension. Will it scare the heck out of you if you watched it alone late at night? Yes, yes it will.

Insidious isn’t scared to pull any punches and is thoroughly entertaining as well as been surprisingly funny at times. Overall, it is a great and creepy film. It’s refreshing to watch a horror film full of genuine scares, practical effects and that has an ending that’s just downright chilling.

Read our full review here.