As of 2024, the Insidious franchise has produced five movies since its first installment in 2011. The film series has been widely successful and is currently ranked as the fourteenth highest-grossing horror film franchise worldwide. Its five films have earned over $730 million in Box Office earnings from a total production budget of $42.5 million.
Famed Australian horror genre directors James Wan and Leigh Whannell created the Insidious horror franchise. Although the story arc changes in the film series, psychic/demonologist Elise Rainier and her paranormal investigators Specs and Tucker are the three central characters in all five released films in the franchise. With several releases created as prequels and sequels, the best order to watch the Insidious movies is chronologically rather than by release order. To help get you started, here’s the chronological watch order of the Insidious film franchise.
1. Insidious: Chapter 3
Insidious: Chapter 3 was released on June 5, 2015, as the third installment in the Insidious film franchise. However, following the franchise story, Insidious: Chapter 3 was created as a prequel to the first two installments in the film series. Chapter 3 was also the first time James Wan did not direct, having been replaced by the franchise co-creator and screenwriter Leigh Whannell as director. In Insidious: Chapter 3, audiences reconcile how Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) and her paranormal investigators, Specs (Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson) form a partnership. The movie is set three years before Elise Rainer helps the Lambert family. This means none of the Lambert family members appear in Insidious: Chapter 3.
2. Insidious: The Last Key
Insidious: The Last Key was released on January 5, 2018, as the fourth installment in the Insidious franchise. It was the first time a director other than James Wan and Leigh Whannell manned the director’s chair. American filmmaker Adam Robitel directed The Last Key. It is the second movie to watch chronologically as its ending introduces the Lambert family. Also, the beginning of Insidious: The Last Key briefly showcases Elise Rainier’s background story.
Set in 1953, it shows audiences Elise’s childhood home and her encounter with a demonic spirit. Most of Insidious: The Last Key is set in 2010, with Elise, Specs, and Tucker returning to Elise’s childhood family home to help check out Ted Garza’s (Kirk Acevedo) claim of paranormal activity. The Last Key ends with Elise receiving a call from Lorraine Lambert to help her grandson, Dalton Lambert.
3. Insidious
This brings us back to the franchise’s first installment movie, Insidious. The movie was released theatrically in the United States on April 1, 2011. The 2011 Insidious introduces and centers on the Lambert family. Having received the call from Lorraine Lambert (Barbara Hershey) to help her grandson, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Elise and her team visit the Lamberts and meet with Dalton’s parents, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne). Dalton’s innate ability to astral project his consciousness sends him into The Further. Elise recruits his father, Josh Lambert (who she had previously helped when he was young), to help save his son from the Further. However, just when they thought they were victorious, a demon from the past takes hold of Josh. Elise Rainier is killed in the end.
4. Insidious: Chapter 2
With the cliffhanger at the end of Insidious, it’s only natural for its prequel to address the unanswered questions. Insidious: Chapter 2 was released on September 13, 2013, as the second installment in the Insidious franchise. Chapter 2 begins by revealing Josh Lambert’s childhood. It takes audiences back to 1986 when Elise first encounters the young Josh Lambert. With the help of Elise’s former colleague, Carl (Steve Coulter), and Elise’s spirit, the Lamberts are able to save Josh Lambert from The Further.
5. Insidious: The Red Door
Insidious: The Red Door was released on July 7, 2023, as the fifth installment in the franchise. Having had two prequel releases, The Red Door is a sequel to Chapter 2. Lead actor Patrick Wilson directed Insidious: The Red Door as his feature directorial debut. The 2023 movie is set in 2019, nine years after the events of its predecessor. In The Red Door, Josh is estranged from his wife and children. However, when Dalton inadvertently enters The Further, the Lamberts reunite to save him. After watching the Insidious film franchise chronologically, find out what order to watch the Resident Evil movies.
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