The Insidious films may have had their ups and downs, but they’re still some of the most consistently entertaining supernatural horror movies out there. After all, watching Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier never gets old, and that’s not even mentioning the fresh ghost/demon designs that haunt each new installment.
Luckily for fans, the latest addition to this decade-and-a-half-long saga is shaping up to be one of the best – at least if the first trailer for Insidious: Out of the Further is to be believed. That’s why we’re taking a closer look at this spooky little teaser and point out five things we learned from the trailer, as Jacob Chase’s sequel appears to have a lot more up its sleeve than most fans realize.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be limiting our analysis to the trailer itself, though I think it’s also worth pointing out that The Last Key’s Key Demon shows up on the film’s official poster (or at least his hands do) – a sure sign that the best part of that film will also make an appearance in this demonic blast from the past.
As usual, don’t forget to comment below if you think we missed anything important.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
5. Why It Was Originally Called “The Bleeding World”
Out of the Further is by no means a bad title, with the film appearing to do exactly what it says on the tin, but I have to be honest and express my disappointment with the fact that the studio chose to discard the original and much more badass name of “Insidious: The Bleeding World.”
Funnily enough, the new trailer actually appears to explain the original title by setting up the fact that Amelia Eve’s Gemma has the power to permanently bring entities back from “The Further” (the astral plane inhabited by spirits and demons) into real life, an ability that instantly makes her a target for our ghostly antagonists. This means that the hellish dimension is literally bleeding into our world as spirits attempt to use Gemma to escape their exile – hence the discarded title!
4. There Will Be More Liminal Horror in The Further
Between the Exit 8 adaptation and the upcoming Backrooms film, liminal horror is all the rage these days. However, the Insidious series was a pioneer of sorts when it comes to popularizing the concept of warped versions of familiar spaces. While plenty of different filmmakers have added their own spin to The Further over the years, there’s still plenty of paranormal ground to cover in the future.
That’s why it’s great to see Chase expand the concept with the seemingly infinite pillow fort that we see in the trailer, as this liminal nightmare feels like a nod to horror stories like House of Leaves (or maybe even the less serious Dave Made a Maze) while also serving as a freaky example of how the main character’s powers allow her to bring elements of The Further into the real world.
This brief clip also contains the teaser’s best scare, though I have a feeling that the full chase scene will be a lot creepier.
3. There’s a Focus on Dental Horror
While it’s mostly due to trauma from a single bad experience rather than an archetypal fear of the concept itself, I’ve always been terrified of dentists. That’s why it bothers me that so few horror movies take advantage of the inherent horrors of odontological malpractice. Out of the Further appears to be an exception, however, with the trailer teasing us with plenty of dental imagery that borders on body horror.
From the blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it introduction of a new dentist demon to a mouth POV shot harkening back to Little Shop of Horrors (and the fact that Gemma appears to be a dentist herself), I think it’s safe to say that my fellow dentophobes and I are in for a nightmarish experience this Summer.
2. We’ll See Plenty of Returning Villains
The Red Door may have featured the long-awaited return of the Lambert family and the iconic Lipstick Demon (also known as the “Red-Faced Demon”), but Out of the Further appears to be going the extra mile by bringing back most of the series’ previously established spirits and demons for one big supernatural crossover event.
From the Man Who Can’t Breathe to the aforementioned Lipstick Demon (and even a chilling shot involving a shotgun-wielding Doll Girl), the trailer promises that the latest sequel will be a treat for long-time fans. Judging by the flick’s IMDB page, I’m also suspecting that the filmmakers are attempting to keep some of the best cameos/returning characters a surprise for when the movie actually comes out later this year.
1. New Ghosts, Too!
It’s cool enough that Chase is revisiting our favorite entities from the franchise’s past, but you can’t build a good horror film out of spooky nostalgia alone. That’s why we’re excited to see a host of new and eerie faces haunting the screen in this brief teaser.
From the ghosts lurking in the dentist’s office to that nightmarish crowd shot filled with dark figures standing in the middle of an ill-lit street, there are plenty of brand-new entities here that appear to be expanding the series’ mythology in new and interesting ways. In fact, if these brief snippets of footage are to be believed, we’ll be getting ghosts from several different backgrounds and time periods, making the ensuing chaos as they bleed into our world even more fascinating to watch.