A Whole Day in the Further

I should actually start by acknowledging that while I do enjoy most of the Insidious movies in existence, with the exception of the third installment, I don't really consider myself a huge fan or anything. The latest entry in the franchise is due to hit theaters next weekend and presently I do not have advanced tickets purchased or even plans to see it at the theater necessarily. What it really boils down to is my unregulated whims are in dire need of measured observation. I don't think I really know what even prompted this endeavor. I don't think I saw a clip or a trailer of the new movie at any point today or even yesterday, for that matter. Again, I'm very much aware of the impending release and it does look interesting, but it hasn't risen to that level of necessity that a jaunt to the multiplex is in any significant order. It's not off the table, mind you. I do think it looks like an appealing, and potentially fresh new take on the world they've painstakingly created via the vision of James Wan and Leigh Whannell from all the way back in 2011. But whatever prompted this slog through the series, I am sitting here at the conclusion of my Saturday having consumed all five films and figured I'd take a moment to address the series at large as an exercise in dusting off my Cinemastering written skills. I will dive in headfirst from here and let you know in a very general sort of fashion to be alert for spoiler warnings. I don't think I plan to straight up ruin things as this collection of films kicked off 15 years ago at this point. But the most recent iteration did just hit theaters a few years ago so that one is relatively fresh. Any way you slice it, I'm just meandering through my experience today and while my intention isn't to chronicle all the ins and outs of each movie's exact storyline, I'm also not going to tiptoe through the proverbial tulips to avoid any surprises. Yeah, see what I did there? If you know these movies then hopefully that garnered at least a begrudged chuckle. It was very organic. I didn't mean to do it but it happened and I don't regret it. The first film is definitely the best, hands down. Any series of films that spans this many sequels and as long a time frame is inclined to experience a bit of fatigue overall as the years go on. They do, however, start considerably strong out of the gate. If memory serves correct, the first film was birthed out of a general sense of wanting to create a truly frightening horror film that would easily pass the PG-13 hurdles set forth by the MPAA. Many times, horror movies lean heavily into the kind of content both with gore and violence as well as taboo language and other content. These are typically frills of the exclusivity of that rating but it also undercuts an age range that typically has a social thirst for scares as well. Certainly plenty of youths don't encumber themselves with the moral fortitude to adhere to the rating system, especially in lieu of parents who are lax on such a qualifier. But for a large enough swath of the younger population, the classic R rated horror film is relatively off limits. This may have been completely contrived but I do remember hearing this being a reasonable motivator for Wan and Whannell to aim for full scares but a more stringent content mindset. With all that in mind, I really do feel like they hit this mark with considerable ease in the grand scheme of things. The genesis of this franchise is a really well made horror movie with plenty of nuance from every angle. The narrative is strong. The characters are well developed and brought to life in meaningful fashion, which does include a number of child actors in tow. Scares are not relegated to cheap jumps or startles but more so a true tension that builds through visuals as well as a very complex audio presentation. The music pulls you into the further just as much as the visuals do. The story unfolds in a very natural fashion as well. As much jumping around as the series will eventually employ, the first film exhibits what seems like a very deliberate progression from beginning to end. There are moments where we ebb and flow in and out of tangential exposition, but it all stays relatively tight in my estimation. Through all five movies there are times where I felt like they don't strictly adhere to every notion they've unfurled as far as a set of "rules" might imply, but I do still have to give them credit for building what seems to be a fairly comprehensive coexistence between the physical, known realm and what is deemed "The Further" by Lin Shaye's "Elise" the wise old soothsayer. I have to pause here to give the series real credit on one other item that exists both in and outside of all five movies. The number of cooks in the kitchen stayed considerably tight over a decade and a half with Whannell being directly involved both as writer and actor in all the films. Wan was also very close at hand for the entire production and the cast stayed true through nearly all the movies. The players at least stayed the same. There is direct connective tissue between the first, second, and fifth films as they are a direct progression of a specific story line. But even with two of the movies being more narratively driven by backstory of the inception of the supernatural team as well as their evolutionary progression through the third and fourth films, everything stays pretty tight. I also appreciate that by going the route of excavating a past for Elyse, Whannell, and Sampson's paranormal incorporation, it allowed for Shaye's death at the end of the second film to remain narratively competent while allowing for her to continue her involvement in the franchise across all five films. For the entire venture to be handled by as few hands developmentally is impressive. I think it's let itself to the success and longevity of the series in a major way. My other real praise of the series is it does feel like a real love letter from the filmmakers to iconic horror films of a similar nature from the past. The first two movies have easily identifiable sinew to the Poltergeist series. If you've seen any of them, it jumps off the screen considerably. The truly appreciated manner by which they achieve such a notable bond, is that it doesn't ever really feel like a ripoff of the former. There are plenty of similarities and overlaps between the two series but Insidious balances the act of homage and original rather adeptly. While you feel the notes that harken back to the 80's, there's enough of a distinction in what exactly is transpiring in these films to create enough of a distinction that it never feels egregious. I applaud the walk in that tightrope because it clearly highlights the inspirations that Wan and Whannell drew from in their own childhood experiences consuming classic horror from that era and using that impact to propel their own storytelling on the big screen. That, to me, is another shining gem in the crown of this franchise's achievements. I think the final note of praise I'd like to address before being a bit more critical, is the fact that the most recent reprise of the collection is a return to the original story line WITH the original cast. Similarly to the Halloween series, the first and second movies are in direct progression. There is a full story from start to finish in the first film but it clearly leaves itself open for a sequel in typical twist manner. The second Insidious picks up right where the first left off and runs with the same trajectory with maybe a little less deftness of hand, if I'm being fair. It's still a good sequel and it tracks. Halloween is a fantastic film. Halloween 2 is good but nowhere near the same lighting in a bottle as Carpenters initial opus. While drop off like that would hardly be labeled as intentional, I still appreciate the accidental connection to the legendary opening gambit of the Halloween collection as well. That third installment of each does take a hard left. Halloween, initially intended to be an anthology from the onset, simply course corrected into a third movie with a completely fresh story. Insidious takes the bones of the first two films and some of the players and tries to expand their universe into a new story but with the same elements from the existing trail they had blazed. Those depths were further plumbed, at least a bit, in the fourth installment as well. But in coming back to the most recent "Red Door" subtitled entry, we re-examining the Lambert family nearly a decade after the second film with the cast fully returning. Additionally, Patrick Wilson steps behind the camera as well to direct this one, and does so expertly. Wilson re-addresses his on screen family in a way that makes a fifth Insidious actually feel warranted, instead of some desperate cash grab via an unnecessary sequel attaching itself parasitically to a waning franchise. I really appreciate the approach to the story that expands off where we left the family at the end of two. Directing this film also highlights both Wilson's investment in horror preservation and longevity, but also really showing his own growth from where he started in the initial outing. I really appreciated a return to a much eerier tone with excellent usage of background space. There were definitely moments where he indulged himself perhaps a bit more than he should have, but it was very refreshing to back away considerably from relying as heavily on cheap jump scares to establish a measure of terrifying street cred. There was also a conclusive wholeness to the story line that was satisfying. Instead of lingering somewhere for a classic twist, we received a terrifically gratifying tie off for the family that felt good. There were elements that were very feel good ending but I felt it worked a lot better than just prolonging the account with a beleaguered pan across scenery to any number of twisty tropes to keep the Insidious heartbeat going. Clearly there's a sixth film on the horizon next weekend. So there is room to continue to grow. But I quite liked the way things balanced out in the end. Now to address some of the poorer aspects of this series. Namely the third film. It's easily the weakest. Having watched it a second time now, I haven't shifted my stance on it at all. It had been a good while since I'd seen it so I thought perhaps I could have been too callous towards it initially. Nope. It's not good. It's not necessarily bad. But it's definitely not good. In many ways it just sort of exists. By the time we get to the third movie, we are firmly in jump scare territory. It was surprising to me, mostly because we didn't really change hands behind the scenes in any notable fashion. Whannell stepped up and directed the third film. It was his first outing in this capacity so that may have been a part of it. But while they tried to pivot to a fresh story, it just felt boring. The acting was stagnant and the villain was a mixture of confusing and uninspired. While the "Lipstick Demon" from the first two films is hardly a moniker that strikes fear in the audience, his whole persona definitely does. And they don't ever call him that so our first antagonist is truly terrifying. The "Man Who Can't Breathe" aka "Wheezing Demon" is a shadowy personification of asthma with muddy bare feet for some reason. That might have been addressed but I don't think it was. There were a lot of things with the third film that I could see being an exit point for many fans of the series. I've watched a lot of bad horror movies and this is far from the worst so it's not some heinous downgrade in quality. But it is noteworthy enough in my estimation considering how good the first two were. I will say that the fourth film did regain some footing for me. It was a much more interesting look directly at the personal backdrop of Elyse as a player in this world. We do jump out of timeline so the events of the fourth film precede the narrative of the first two films. But they handle this in a way that doesn't ever really feel all that confusing, so I have to give them credit for that. While it's easy to say that this film does regain some footing, I still have to admit by the fourth adventure I was feeling a bit uninterested in things. It might be that I was on my fourth Insidious film of the day and that's a natural, if not expected, response to overtly extensive stimuli of a similar nature. But coming out of the fifth film, I wasn't nearly as bored. I think that's the real problem. Again, it wasn't that the movie was bad, it just sort of continued. It was sort of like being cornered at a family reunion by a relative you don't know well and politely having to endure a series of stories that aren't strictly uninteresting but certainly not enthralling by any means either. So the series really does still kind of dip for me here. However, I do think that's a spectacular note for me to begin wrapping up this experience so I don't become unnecessarily cumbersome myself. I joked at the conclusion of my impromptu film festival that this was eight and a half hours spent. Normally one might indicate it was well spent if that was the case. I'm not sure I can resoundingly allocate that sort of notion as I don't think I'd ever do this again. I do feel like it presented me with an experience that allowed the subject matter to congeal a bit more holistically. The standard amount of time that exists between watching these films in the past has been lengthy. Not that I'd recommend spending almost nine hours doing it yourself. But I would be remiss if I didn't note that some of the silver lining is you really see elements of the connective tissue in real time. Something you saw in the first or second film really shone brightly through three, four, and five. Having speed ran other franchises in the past, I can say that this one was considerably more appealing than a similarly sized catalog like Nightmare on Elm Street. That's a slog. Friday the 13th is borderline unwatchable once you get past the 5th installment. So Insidious really does do a lot right, even when they might miss the mark here and there. Does this watch through push me more towards a theatrical outing for six? I don't necessarily think so. But it also doesn't preclude it, which I think is still admirable. Ultimately I think I'll have to see for myself if the continuation of this series is warranted or if we should have stopped after we painted over the Red Door. Only time will tell. But that's my Saturday poking around "The Further" with the Lamberts and a few other usual suspects. Hopefully you enjoyed this accounting of my poor time management. Until next time, I'll catch you on the flip side.