How to watch all the Insidious Movies in order ‣ Diverse Daily

Insidious began as a low-budget haunted-house movie directed by James Wan before he moved on to The Fast and Furious franchise. It’s now grown into a respectable horror icon thanks to its unique astral plane world and creepy tone and atmosphere.

Insidious doesn’t rely on over-the-top gore like many horror movies and focuses on the emotional toll its characters suffer. It also puts a unique spin on ghosts, with lore centered on traversing an astral plane called The Further populated by doomed souls. Now’s the best time to catch up on the Insidious movies with the latest installment, dropping in theaters this week.

Film title	Year	Director	Streaming
Insidious: Chapter 3	2015	Leigh Whannel	Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango
Insidious: The Last Key	2018	Adam Robitel	Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, Hulu, HBO Max
Insidious	2011	James Wan	Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, MGM+
Insidious: Chapter 2	2013	James Wan	Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, Peacock Premium
Insidious: The Red Door	2023	Patrick Wilson	Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, Hulu, HBO Max
Insidious: Out of the Further	2026	Jacob Chase	TBA
Thread: An Insidious Tale	TBA	Jeremy Slater	TBA

Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)

A standalone prequel

Insidious: Chapter 3 is a standalone prequel about a paranormal investigation by psychic Elise Rainier before she met the Lambert family. She’s approached by a teenage girl called Quin who asks her to contact her dead mother. Elise refuses when she detects an evil entity. Quin leaves and is soon involved in a car accident after being distracted by a strange apparition.

Quin and her family start experiencing terrifying supernatural phenomena in their home and once again ask Elise for help. She initially declines after being attacked by the Bride in Black, and they call Specs and Tucker instead. Quin’s father, Sean, wants to kick them out for being frauds after Quin gets possessed and tries to kill them. Elise arrives to help. She must enter The Further and battle the spirits who are after her to save Quin. Insidious: Chapter 3 refreshes the series with a new setting and cast. It also provides depth to Elise’s character and her motivations. There’s no shortage of jump scares and creepiness, but it somehow lacks the atmosphere of James Wan’s earlier entries.

Release Date: June 5, 2015
Runtime: 97 minutes
Director: Leigh Whannell

Stefanie Scott

Quinn Brenner
Dermot Mulroney

Sean Brenner

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

A slow-burn origin story

Insidious: The Last Key takes us back in time and serves as an origin story for Elise Rainier. It begins with her coming into her powers and being punished by her cruel father, who locks her in the basement. She mistakenly unleashes a spirit who possesses her and kills her mother.

She gets a call today from someone living in her old house who’s experiencing unusual occurrences. Elise must face the demons from her past and come to terms with her past trauma to solve the case. It leads her deeper into The Further and her own past and horrific truths are revealed. Insidious: The Last Key is a slower-burn, more thoughtful entry in the series. It spends the first half building suspense. The second half is a nightmarish trip into The Further and a face-to-face confrontation with the demon, KeyFace.

Release Date: January 5, 2018
Runtime: 103 minutes
Director: Adam Robitel

Insidious (2011)

The one that started it all

James Wan kicked off the franchise with 2010’s Insidious. The Lambert family moves into a new house, and their son Dalton goes into a mysterious coma that doctors can’t understand.

Things get creepier in the house, and the family begins seeing apparitions. They eventually bring in a psychic, Elise Rainier, and paranormal investigators, Tucker and Specs, to investigate. They discover what’s going on and offer a terrifying solution to save Dalton and end the haunting. Insidious is a masterclass in atmosphere and escalating terror, which leaves viewers hungry for more.

Release Date: April 1, 2011
Runtime: 102 minutes
Director: James Wan

Patrick Wilson

Josh Lambert
Ty Simpkins

Dalton Lambert

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

A bigger sequel

Insidious: Chapter 2 picks up directly after the first movie with the Lambert family still seeing apparitions, while they grapple with Elise’s death. Meanwhile, the paranormal detective, together with Josh Lambert’s mum, Loraine, and psychic, Carl, try to unravel what happened to her.

Their investigation takes them into Josh’s past and a long-forgotten serial killer case. They discover Josh Lambert’s physical body is possessed, and he’s hearing voices telling him to kill his family. The real Josh is trapped in the supernatural Further world and is trying to get back to his body in the real world. Insidious takes the same characters and concepts from the first film and dials up everything. The story isn’t as tight, but it delivers on scares and expands the lore in new directions.

Release Date: September 13, 2013
Runtime: 106 minutes
Director: James Wan

Patrick Wilson

Josh Lambert
Ty Simpkins

Dalton Lambert

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

The end of an era

Insidious: The Red Door is the third and final movie in the Lambert family saga. It begins with father Josh and his son, Dalton, being hypnotized to forget all their memories of possession and The Further. Nine years later, Josh takes Dalton to university. Dalton draws the mysterious red saw from his past on his first day in art class.

Dalton and Josh begin seeing apparitions. Dalton enters The Further and is captured by the Red Demon, who possesses his body in the real world. Josh must once again enter The Further to save his son. Insidious: The Red Door is one of the weakest entries in the series. It has all the obligatory jump scares and trips into The Further, but lacks the franchise’s signature tension and atmosphere.

Release Date: July 7, 2023
Runtime: 107 minutes
Director: Patrick Wilson

Ty Simpkins

Dalton Lambert
Patrick Wilson

Josh Lambert

Insidious: Out of the Further (2026)

A new story

Insidious: Out of the Further is the latest installment of the horror franchise. This time, a young mother called Gemma discovers she can travel into The Further.

Unlike others who’ve been there, she can bring the spirits into the real world. The spirits find out and wreak havoc in the real world. Insidious: Out of the Further drops in theaters on 21 August 2026.

Release Date: August 21, 2026
Runtime: 106 minutes
Director: Jacob Chase

Thread: An Insidious Tale (TBA)

A forthcoming spin-off

Thread: An Insidious Tale is an upcoming spin-off starring Kumail Nanjiani and Mandy Moore

The details are still sketchy at this point, but it’s about a married couple who use magic to go back in time to prevent their daughter from dying. Their journey takes them into The Further and causes terrible consequences.