The most recognizable villain from the six-film world of Insidious is unquestionably the Lipstick-Face Demon, who was memorably introduced in James Wan’s original horror hit. And he’s back in the brand new sixth franchise installment Insidious: Out of the Further, a return that was teased by both an official poster for the film as well as the movie’s popcorn bucket.
But despite Insidious: Out of the Further getting a Lipstick-Face Demon Popcorn Bucket in theaters, the iconic character actually only makes a very brief cameo appearance in the film.
Why then did the marketing lean so heavily on the Lipstick-Face Demon? It’s a question Out of the Further director Jacob Chase was asked during a Reddit AMA conversation last week.
Chase explains, “He never had a huge role in the film, but there were a couple scenes that we ended up cutting out or truncating, yeah. I think ultimately we learned that less is more with his character. He has one of the most iconic jump scares in cinema history in the first film so I totally get wanting to see more of him.”
“But every time he’s been seen since has been less scary to me and I was trying to only keep the scary bits!” Chase continues. “But Joe Bishara is the nicest most talented composer and while you might not see his face much in the film, you hear his music throughout!”
Chase adds, “And in terms of the poster with his face on it… I don’t control the marketing…”
That is indeed Insidious franchise composer Joseph Bishara back in the makeup as the Lipstick-Face Demon in Insidious: Out of the Further, but his screentime is so limited that you’d be forgiven for blinking and missing him entirely. Perhaps we’ll see some of those deleted and extended scenes when the film eventually comes to home video. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
Insidious: Out of the Further is now playing in theaters nationwide.
The film follows Gemma, a mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, who discovers she can travel into The Further, the purgatorial realm of lost souls at the heart of the Insidious universe. When something evil comes after her, Gemma discovers an ability that changes everything: she doesn’t just enter The Further, she can bring what lives there back to the real world. Once the demons realize her power, our world becomes their playground.
Franchise star Lin Shaye reprises her role as Elise Rainier alongside Amelia Eve (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”) and Brandon Perea (Nope). Island Austin and Maisie Richardson-Sellers (“Legends of Tomorrow”) also star. Sam Spruell plays the malevolent entity known as Cyrus.
