All horror fans will remember back in 2010 when iconic horror filmmaker James Wan directed the supernatural horror film and soon-to-be franchise, Insidious. Written by Leigh Whannell, the movie focused on the Lambert family as we follow the parents (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) on their paranormal challenges as they attempt to face and protect their son Dalton against evil forces that have invaded their home.

Throughout the past decade, the Insidious films have blessed audiences with plenty of excellent jump scares and creepy spirits as the brilliant horror franchise following the Lamberts and paranormal investigator Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye) has unfolded in front of us. Each movie brings us the perfect adrenaline rush and spooky shivers that we crave from a good horror movie, and have gone down as classics in the paranormal horror sub-genre, becoming one of the best horror movie franchises. Although, much like other horror franchises, such as Halloween and The Conjuring, watching the Insidious movies in chronological order isn’t exactly straightforward, so what is the best order to watch them in? Of course to watch them in order of release works just fine.

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However, for those devoted horror fans, it might be best to watch the story unfold in chronological order as the third and fourth films are actually prequels to the first two. But back in October 2020, it was announced that the franchise is coming back to haunt us, and now, Insidious 5 has a release date. Make a note in your diary that Chapter 5 will be coming to you on July 7th, 2023, ten years after the release of the second film, and will thus take place ten years after its events. So, it is probably best for us to watch the story from beginning to end and scrub up on our facts in time for next year. These are the Insidious movies in order, though you can also watch by order of release.

The Insidious Movies in Chronological Order

  • Insidious: Chapter 3 Insidious: The Last Key Insidious Insidious: Chapter 2

Insidious: Chapter 3

     Gramercy Pictures

To watch in story order, it’s best to start with Insidious: Chapter 3, where we see teenager Quinn Brenner, who believes that her mother is trying to contact her from beyond. In an attempt to reach her, she contacts paranormal investigator Elise. Although when Quinn is attacked by an evil entity in an oxygen masked, named the ‘man who can’t breathe,’ Elise ventures off into The Further, where she finds herself up against an evil demon who is hungry and on a search for someone’s soul. Watching this movie first introduces Elise, who becomes an important and life-saving character for the rest of the series, as well as feeding us some wonderful horror.

Insidious: The Last Key

     Sony Pictures Releasing 

Insidious: The Last Key delves further into Elise’s life and how she came to work as a paranormal investigator. It is the most recent entry in the franchise, and while it takes place after the events of Chapter 3, it is still a prequel to the first two movies, and includes flashbacks into Elise’s childhood. The Last Key shows Elise as she receives a phone call from a man who claims that his house is haunted. What Elise thinks is a normal job turns into something much more sinister.

When she learns that the caller’s address is her haunted childhood home that had been bought, she will need to confront her worst fears and return to the house to deal with the demon she accidently released years before. Amongst her journey into The Further to get rid of this demon, we are introduced to the Lambert family for the first time. Elise sees a young Dalton and unintentionally leaves the door between The Further and the Lambert’s home open. Later that night, Elise has a dream about Dalton and soon after receives a phone call from the Lamberts. This sets up the events that unfold in the first Insidious installment.

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Insidious

     FilmDistrict

Insidious is the first film in the series, where we are introduced to the Lambert family, who Elise became aware of at the end of The Last Key. We are introduced to a demon that is now terrorizing the Lambert’s son, Dalton, after finding its way through the door between The Further and the real world. We watch Dalton, who appears as if he is in a coma, but is actually traveling through The Further in his sleep but got stuck, and is now trying to find his way back home.

In a remarkable discovery, Elise remembers Josh Lambert (Dalton’s father), from when she met him as a child. She informs Josh that he has the same astral projection powers as his son, but his memories were suppressed to protect him from a demon that terrorized him as a child, and the same demon that is trying to kill Elise. As Josh enters The Further and drives the demon away, Dalton is rescued and the family are happily reunited; however, soon after Elise notices something strange about Josh. When she realizes that Josh has been possessed, we are left on a cliffhanger — what is going to happen to the Lambert family? This sets us up for the second installment in the Insidious series, or in the chronological order, the final chapter of the story so far.

Insidious: Chapter 2

Insidious: Chapter 2 gives us all the answers we need to find out what happened to Josh Lambert. We find out that possessed Josh is being investigated for the murder of Elise, although he is completely unaware of being possessed by the demon. We are greeted with flashbacks to 1986 where Elise suppresses young Josh’s memory of his psychic abilities to travel into The Further, but these abilities might just come in handy.

With the help of Elise’s team, they contact Elise’s spirit for help. Josh finds himself traveling once again into The Further to rid himself of his possession and to put all the horror to rest. After the family are reunited, Josh and Dalton decide that it’s best to suppress their memories of the tragedy so that they can live in peace. Technically, Chapter 2 is the perfect ending to the Insidious series and brings the story to a close, yet also leaves it perfectly open for Chapter 5 coming next year, which takes place ten years after this movie.

While watching the movies in chronological order does make the most sense if you want to follow the story, watching them in release date order can also bring the story to a close, but in a more shocking way that keeps us guessing. This way, the franchise ends with Elise opening the door to the Lambert’s home, which tie together all the events that have unfolded in the first three films and creates one of those “oohhhhh!!!” moments. Either way, the Insidious movies are still to this day creepy, and to many remain some of the scariest movies ever made. Keep an eye out for those demons in Insidious 5.

The Insidious Movies in Order of Release

  • Insidious - April 1, 2011 Insidious: Chapter 2 - Sep. 13, 2013 Insidious: Chapter 3 - June 5, 2015 Insidious: The Last Key - Jan. 5, 2018

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