Insidious is among the popular horror films of the contemporary period, which was able to intrigue film viewers with its mixture of psychological horror and paranormal thriller. It was started in 2011 and since then it has five films and each has a connection with the other to make a big story line. It has become a cultural phenomenon now and many people, especially lovers of horror genre, make it a point to visit and watch a horror franchise. But given the fact that there are so many films and different timelines it becomes a challenge for new comers to come in and know where to start or what to look for. In this article, we’ll discuss the franchise’s background and determine why it is still popular, as well as learn how to watch the Insidious films in chronological and sequence-based order.
The Origins of Insidious
The first movie in the Insidious series was directed by James Wan and the script was written by Leigh Whannell, it was released in 2011 and was well received for been a movie that only cost $1.75M to latter on make $730M world wide. It is a story of two main characters been Josh and Renai Lambert who are a couple whose son is in a coma like state and their struggle to seek the truth behind the situation. The reason why the movie can be considered successful is that it presents the audience with a somewhat unfamiliar telling of the haunted house movies that incorporates psychological horror and a spin on the conventional ghost narrative. The climax of the movie, which shows the lurking malign force on a place known as the Further a world where the dead exist just because, probably trapped in this place, this argument would turn into the foundation for the subsequent films.
Why the Franchise Continues to Thrive
This is probably what intrigue me the most, if we look into the current online ratings of the next three movies after the first release the performance was very poor, first installment was some what successful for been the first besides it was good for a low budget movie, I think the viewers enjoy and had in consideration this. Having some one like Patrick Wilson help to boost the audience confidence, having the Lambert couple together also help to provide continuation, on its last version the franchise has probably realize this and brought them back with its sixth version to release on August 29,2025. To answer this question directly its their style of haunting souls going after their son, been both brave enough to confront this entities, different than other movies where they just avoid them or try to suppress them.
Watching the Insidious Movies in Chronological Order
For the audiences who wants to watch the series in the series of the events, it is more appropriate to follow the sequence of the Insidious movies. This order will consider the events in the possible order that they would take place in the timeline of the franchise.
| Movie Title | Release Year | Chronological Order |
|---|---|---|
| Insidious: Chapter 3 | 2015 | 1 |
| Insidious: The Last Key | 2018 | 2 |
| Insidious | 2011 | 3 |
| Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013 | 4 |
| Insidious: The Red Door | 2023 | 5 |
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
This iteration takes place three 3 before the events of the first movie of the franchise, Insidious: Chapter 3 is also dedicated to Elise Rainier who is a psychic girl on the verge of breakdown due to the burden of her abilities, the movie follows Elise as she encounters Quinn Brenner, a young lady who is being attacked by the demon. Elise, with her helpers Specs and Tucker helps Quinn and her family try to cope with the demon following them. A prequel that tries to explain more about Elise Rainier the women who initially help Josh Lambert when he was a little boy, he was good at leaving his body and get lost in the further.
Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
The second movie in the chronology order with title Insidious: The Last Key focus around Elise and her battle with a demon she encountered while growing up, the story begins with a flashback of the events that occurred in Five Keys a fictional place created for the series to be more specific, it was in New Mexico around 1953 to show the audience the terrible conditions of Elise’s family and the loss of her mother due to the attack of a demon, the movie then jumps to 2010 and sees Elise working as a full time supernatural investigator with Specs and Tucker, same crew that work with the Lamberts on the first iteration of the franchise. The climax of the movie involves a battle between Elise and the demon that has been following her that aim of freeing herself from possession.
Insidious (2011)
This was the first Insidious movie, the audience gets introduce to the Lambert family who do not know how their son Dalton got into a coma or what has happened to him, as the mystery behind the case starts to develop, they find out that Dalton has the capability of astral projection and his spirit is stuck in the Further, same skills his father Josh had when little, still has. This involves the main characters of the film Josh and Renai Lambert who together with the help of Elise try to find out what has happened to Dalton and to save him from the an evil spirit who is also in the Further.
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
The sequel to the original film, Insidious: Chapter 2 then proceeds from where the first movie ending with Josh a suspect in the murder of Elise and the Lambert family comprising of Henry, Elizabeth, Dalton, Sarah, and the unborn child return to the scene in an attempt to live a normal life but they are soon horrified to learn that the evil spirit from the Further is not done with the family yet and that the haunting of Josh by the Bride in Black is still ongoing. As with any movie it is the prequel that provides the back story on the Lambert family and the events leading up to the plot of the further movies.
Insidious: The Red Door (2023)
The latest installment in the franchise, Insidious: The Red Door, Dalton is now in college but he discovers that the spirits hunting him on his past still come back for him, this time the movie focuses on the Dalton and Josh, father and son, who with the help of other characters, attempt to capture the LipstickFace Demon in the Further realm and conclude the saga of the Lambert family, taking the audience back to the initial series and gives the characters a degree of resolution.
Watching the Insidious Movies in Event Order
For those who like to sit back, kick back, and watch the movies as they were released then the event order is ideal. This view makes fans feel like they are watching the franchise in the way that was initially envisioned, with one movie progressing to the next.
| Movie Title | Release Year | Event Order |
|---|---|---|
| Insidious | 2011 | 1 |
| Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013 | 2 |
| Insidious: Chapter 3 | 2015 | 3 |
| Insidious: The Last Key | 2018 | 4 |
| Insidious: The Red Door | 2023 | 5 |
The Insidious franchise is a testament to the power of horror cinema offering a unique blend of psychological terror and supernatural suspense that has captivated audiences worldwide, probably not the most successful but still standing, not necessarily because they keep making this movies means they are all good but something had click with the audience to keep moving forward. With its intricate narrative and developed characters continuation across the different iterations, the series has become a more than just a trilogy now been a series that to be honest can take a drastic change if its new version for 2025 is a sucess, drawing in fans of horror from around the world. After watching the first movie I was intrigue on figuring out why there is a new version and why there are so many to now figure out how the connection between each other could be what appeal for the audience, details and continuation are key.
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