I wasn’t expecting a part 5 of the Insidious franchise nor was I expecting it to be a sequel to part 2, mostly ignoring the events of parts 3 and 4. Not that continuity and cannon are all that critical to this kinda generic but kinda decent spookshow franchise.

Insidious: The Red Door lets us know out the gate that Patrick Wilson (the dad) and Ty Simpkins (the son) were emotionally traumatized by being in a couple of these movies already. They get hypnotized into forgetting everything and, nine years later, the kid heads off to college, leaving dad a flustered broken mess. Now spooks are harassing them again and they have to figure out why.

The big problem with this film is that our two leads spend the whole movie trying to remember things that the audience already knows. None of this supernatural business is a surprise to us… but we have to drum our fingers while the leads catch up to the plot. The story just spins its wheels and winds up exactly where a part 3 (or 5) should have started.

Which doesn’t mean any of this is particularly bad… there are some decent scares here and there. The actors are doing fine work… but the film just can’t get past its genre and franchise clichés.

The only bright spot was newcomer Sinclair Daniels who plays a wise-ass college friend. She might overstay her welcome but her sense of humor constantly pokes fun at the self-seriousness of the film. It’d have been nice if she were more rounded character and I’m sure she’s going to get on the nerves of some people. But I liked her… wish she’d been the star.

So, yeah, this is sadly the least of this franchise. It’s still watchable but it wobbles on the edge of tedious and overly long. I wish they had conjured up another sinister plot instead of just playing catch up.

Score: 74