Blumhouse and Sony Pictures are likely positioning this as a return to the franchise's roots, emphasizing the familiar creepy imagery and family-focused narrative that worked in earlier installments.
Industry insiders suggest the Insidious franchise has been coasting on brand recognition rather than creative ambition. One theater chain employee who previewed the film told colleagues it was 'the longest two hours of their career.' The Freddy Krueger comparison isn't subtle—audiences and critics alike are calling out what looks like derivative nightmare villain design.
Page Six published their review on August 20, 2026. The reviewer specifically called the second half 'dum-dum' and described it as 'positively somnambulic' (sleepwalking), with a mother fighting what they explicitly call 'the latest Freddy Krueger ripoff.'
When your horror sequel's biggest sin is putting audiences to sleep instead of scaring them, you've got a franchise problem. Time for the Further to close its doors—or at least let someone new take the wheel.
The Insidious franchise has officially stumbled into nightmare territory—and not the good kind. Page Six dropped their review of "Insidious: Out of the Further" on August 20, 2026, and let's just say the red carpet premiere might need to be downgraded to a direct-to-streaming dump. The reviewer didn't pull punches, calling out what appears to be a by-the-numbers supernatural slop that even die-hard franchise fans would struggle to defend.
The biggest beef? Apparently the second half of this paranormal schlep is where things really fall apart. A mother character fights to stop what's being described as "the latest Freddy Krueger ripoff"—and critics are not buying it.
The reviewer's verdict: "positively somnambulic," which is a fancy way of saying this movie moves like someone who hasn't slept in three days. That's not exactly the vibe you want from a horror film. Here's where things get spicy for franchise-watchers: when your horror sequel gets compared to being as exciting as watching paint dry, questions start swirling about creative fatigue and studio greed.
The Insidious films have been a reliable money-maker since 2010, but reliable doesn't mean good—and audiences are starting to notice the diminishing returns. The Freddy Krueger comparison is particularly damning given that franchise's own struggles with sequels and reboots. Nobody wants to be the lesser nightmare villain in a crowded horror landscape where audiences have more options than ever for their scares.
For those keeping score at home, this marks another entry in what some fans are calling "the great horror sequel drought of the mid-2020s," where familiar IP gets squeezed until the brand equity runs dry. Whether "Insidious: Out of the Further" manages to haunt any box office dreams remains to be seen—but based on this review, you might want to save your money and catch up on sleep instead.
