Insidious Out of The Further review: The latest instalment in the horror franchise is more intense than plain scary

Remove the background score and audio effects, and almost any horror film would stop being scary. I have noticed more than once how well this holds up, because so much of horror is about catching the viewer unaware. So, as I sat watching the latest instalment in the Insidious franchise, I found it intriguing. The sound design, especially, is crafted without leaning too heavily on conventional horror cues, and that makes it all the more interesting, and effective.

Insidious: Out of The Further, written and directed by Jacob Chase, follows a new family in the aftermath of the Lambert saga. Gemma, who lives with her daughter, begins experiencing a series of bizarre occurrences inside the house. She starts seeing three elderly figures following her, and whenever they appear, she finds herself transported to The Further, the eerie realm inhabited by the dead. But she soon discovers that the connection works both ways: she isn't merely capable of entering this other world, she can also bring things back from it. Including demons. And, more disturbingly, the demons know it.

It is a premise with plenty of possibilities, and Chase wastes little time getting the horror underway. There is a strong emphasis on atmosphere, with the film using its eerie spaces and unsettling imagery to build dread rather than constantly reaching for jump scares. They are surprisingly few and far between. Instead, much of the effort goes into transporting the viewer into The Further itself, making the place feel increasingly sinister and unpredictable.

What Insidious: Far From The Further doesn't sacrifice at the altar of being scary, though, is its storyline. Beneath the scares is an intriguing idea that gives the film room to expand the mythology of The Further while offering a new family and a new set of rules to play with. The result is horror that is less dependent on making you jump out of your seat and more interested in making you uneasy about what might come crawling back from the other side.

The story gets repetitive at a few places, and that certainly hampers the pace of its runtime of 106 minutes.

Performance wise, Amelia Eve as Gemma does a good job. Lin Shaye returns as Elise Rainier, and she easily looks the most comfortable in this film's world. Island Austin as Gemma's daughter Maya too makes her presence felt.

Overall, Insidious Out Of The Further is at its strongest when it trusts its atmosphere and lets the horror creep up on you. The sound design and the idea of something crossing back into the real world give the film enough personality to keep it engaging. It is the kind of horror that works best when you are waiting for the next thing to appear, because by then, your imagination has already done some of the work. For a franchise built around what lies on the other side, this one knows exactly how to make that other side feel uncomfortably close.

Rishabh Suri writes for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement HT City. From Bollywood to Hollywood, from Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam films, to OTT and television- he covers it all.