The Big Picture

Insidious: The Red Door concludes the story of the Lambert family, addressing the unresolved issues from the past and giving them closure. The film explores the dangers of astral projection and the consequences it has for Dalton and his family. The ending suggests the possibility of future stories in the Insidious franchise, leaving room for potential sequels or spin-offs.

While Insidious: The Red Door is the fifth film in the Insidious horror franchise, it’s been a decade since we last visited the Lambert family. 2013’s Insidious: Chapter Two concluded with the Lambert family deciding it would be best if both Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Dalton (Ty Simpkins) were hypnotized to not remember the last year of their lives and their experiences in ghost/demon-filled The Further (not to mention a possessed Josh trying to kill Dalton with a hammer). After the prequel spin-offs of 2015’s Insidious: Chapter 3 and 2018’s Insidious: The Last Key, The Red Door finally continues the story of the Lambert family, and gives them a solid goodbye — if this does end up being the end. So how does The Red Door conclude the story of the Lamberts (for now)? Keep reading for all the answers that lie behind the door.

Insidious: The Red Door The Lamberts must go deeper into The Further than ever before to put their demons to rest once and for all. Release Date July 7, 2023 Director Patrick Wilson Cast Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor Rating PG-13 Main Genre Horror

Where Does ‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Pick Up?
A decade later after hypnotizing their memories away, the fogginess that Josh and Dalton are experiencing from this period has caused problems in the family. Josh and Renai (Rose Byrne) have gotten a divorce, while a rift has grown between Josh and Dalton. Both of them feel like there’s something in their head that they can’t shake, and a feeling that they have secrets in their past they can’t remember. With Dalton going off to college, Josh offers to drive him to school, but the two still struggle to find common ground. Soon after father and son separate, they both start to have visions, as Josh starts to see a man following him around, while Dalton starts seeing people that he can’t explain, but with the help of his new roommate Chris (Sinclair Daniel), Dalton learns that he can astral project.

After dropping Dalton off at college, Josh admits that he needs to get his head sorted out. After a horrific visit to a neurologist discovers nothing wrong, the doctor suggests that Josh find out if there was a history of mental illness in his family, and since his mother (Barbara Hershey) has recently passed, these answers aren’t readily available. While practicing some games in his mom’s old house to try and sharpen his mind, a strange man smashes through a window and chances him upstairs into his mother’s room. The stranger mysteriously disappears, but Josh finds in her closet a box of details about his father. The man was in a mental institution and had issues with schizophrenia, claims of astral projection, and a myriad of other issues that ended in his father committing suicide by jumping off the institution’s roof. Shaken by this news, Josh goes to visit Renai, worried that his father’s issues have been passed down to him, and possibly, down to Dalton as well. Renai explains that no, Josh isn’t losing it, and that a decade ago, the entire family decided that it was best for Josh and Dalton for them both to be hypnotized.

Meanwhile, in college, Dalton’s experiments with the astral plane have gotten dangerous, as he’s come to realize the demons can enter the real world the more he projects himself. In his art class, Dalton drew an image of a door, which was covered in blood after Dalton accidentally cut his own hand. Dalton wasn’t sure what the door means, but he thinks it has something to do with the year he can’t remember. As Dalton continues to work on the art project, he also adds a blurry image of a man with a hammer. After calling his brother Foster (Andrew Astor), Dalton realizes that the man with the hammer was his father, and that this isn’t something he’s made up — this actually happened.

What Happens to Josh and Dalton at the End of ‘Insidious: The Red Door’?

Dalton once again astral projects, and finds himself visiting the past, more specifically, the events at the end of Insidious: Chapter 2, when his possessed father attempted to kill his family. Soon after, Dalton is captured by The Red Face Demon, who chains him up, leaving Chris to deal with a possessed Dalton back in the real world. Thankfully, Josh has also gone to the astral plane to try and save his son, and Josh uses the same hammer to smash his son’s chains. Josh explains that the horrific moment in the past wasn’t Josh, but rather, Josh was possessed, much like Dalton is right now. The two attempt to leave The Further, and as they close the monsters behind the red door, Josh tells Dalton to go on without him, as he holds the door shut from The Red Face Demon. Dalton leaves his father, and returns to his body.

As the door starts to break, Josh notices that the door seems to be getting covered in paint. He realizes that this is Dalton’s doing, and sure enough, in the real world, Dalton is back to normal, and painting the door black to save his father. With the door closed for now, Josh walks away, but finds the man that broke into his mother’s house — his father — there to welcome him. After sharing a moment together, Josh grabs a light and heads back to his body. As Dalton and Chris look at the blacked-out painting, Chris suggests they burn the painting. But Dalton says no, ignoring the past isn’t the answer, they must remember the past and move forward from it.

What Do the End Credits of ‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Mean?
The next day, Josh leaves Renai’s house, and she suggests that he come to pick up the kids a little early next week so that they can all have dinner together as a family. As Josh walks back to his car, he seems delighted by the possibility that they could potentially become a family again. But waiting by his car is Elise (Lin Shaye), whom the possessed Josh killed at the end of the first Insidious. Josh recognizes her, but doesn’t know from where. Elise says she’s a friend of Josh’s mother, and Josh says he has so much he wishes he could tell his mother. Elise says that she’ll know and that he can tell her one day. Josh enters his car, looks back, and sees that Elise has disappeared.

Back at college, Dalton is putting the finishing touches on a painting when Josh walks in. The two embrace and say that they love each other. As we fade out of the room, we see the blacked-out door painting has been transformed into an image of the younger Dalton being saved by Josh out of the darkness of The Further, as they use a lantern to find their way. It’s a touching final moment, showing that while they may be surrounded by darkness, the father and son will find their way out together.

After this fitting ending, however, after the credits, we get a hint that there could be more to come. We get another glimpse at the red door, as the light above the door flickers still. Could there be more stories to tell in this world, or is this just a potential threat for someone in the future? Only time will tell.

Insidious: The Red Door is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video. It will also be available to stream on Netflix starting November 4.

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