Hi all!

Today I’m back to rank another beloved horror franchise: Insidious. It’s the only spooky series to have a female, senior citizen as its protagonist. I adore Elise Reiner. She’s so inspiring and kickass, for a woman her age. This saga was created by two of my favourite horror director’s: James Wan and Leigh Whannell. In each film, Elise is contacted to investigate a haunting. She uses her skills as a proficient medium, to enter a place called the Further; a dark realm, where souls are damned to roam forever. There, she is able to banish whatever demon has taken possession of her client. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Spoilers ahead!

1.) Insidious 

My favourite film is definitely the first one. It’s where it all started. We follow the Lambert family, who are haunted by a collection of malevolent entities, including one powerful demon. The family consists of school teacher, Josh, musician, Renai, their oldest son, Dalton, his younger brother, Foster and baby, Cali. After Dalton suffers a tragic accident, disturbing events begin to occur. Renai hears spooky voices on the baby monitor, bloody handprints appear on the sheets and a shadowy figure lurks in her daughter’s room. Josh’s mother, Lorraine, contacts her old friend, Elise Reiner (an expert in paranormal activity), to come investigate. Along with her team, Specs and Tucker, Elise is able to deduce that Dalton is skilled in astral projection. Insidious has a tragic ending. It will stay with you for a long time. Not to mention, the journey into the Further is truly unique and scary. It’s what made this franchise stick out to me.

2.) Insidious: Chapter 3 

My second favourite film in the franchise, is the third. It takes place several years before the Lambert case, following a young girl named Quinn, who contacts Elise in the hopes of connecting with her late mother’s spirit. Elise urges Quinn to cease contact immediately, when an unwanted, malevolent demon crosses over. After Quinn is hit by a car, she’s confined to her home in a wheelchair, with limited mobility. This makes her even more vulnerable to the monster. Chapter 3 had a lot of heart. It features Elise’s late husband, Jack and how the dead protect us long after they are gone. I’m such a sucker for character development, which made this instalment worthy of a high ranking.

3.) Insidious: Chapter 2 

Chapter 2 is a direct sequel to the first film. It also covers what happened to Josh as a child. Shortly following the events of Insidious, the Lambert family continue to experience paranormal disturbances, not realising that Josh has been possessed since his last visit to the Further. It’s lower on my list because not a whole lot happens. The best part, in my opinion, is when we learn that time in the Further, does not move chronologically. The characters are able to traverse through the past, revisiting old memories. I love anything with time travel, but it wasn’t as impactful as the third and first films.

Update: This is where I would rank Insidious: The Red Door. Click here for a full review. 

4.) Insidious: The Last Key 

Even thought the prequel is last, it wasn’t bad. I still enjoyed it. It just didn’t compare to the others. In this film, parapsychologist, Elise Reiner, and her team, travel to Five Keys, N.M., to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. However, terror strikes, when Elise realizes the house he lives in, was her family’s old home. Through a series of flashbacks, we are given insight into how our protagonist came into her powers. It was really nice to watch her backstory unfold, providing further context. I like how the ending loops back around to Insidious. This franchise is really good at connecting plot points together. It wasn’t as scary as I would’ve liked, but I do recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed this post! What do you think of the Insidious franchise? How would you rank the movies? Thanks for reading!

Peace & Love xoxo