Astral: Red Door Review: A bittersweet farewell to the saga that changed horror cinema

IN Insidious: Red Door Patrick Wilson, horror is an element of the dark heritage. Not only because the film returns to the context of the Lambert family, the main characters of the first and second parts of the saga. At the same time, since it is obvious that the plot, more than an exploration of horror, emphasizes the idea of ​​cursed blood ties.

The director, who makes his behind-the-scenes debut, uses his opening scenes to make it clear that what happens next isn’t just about home. Much less often – a specific region or space. except that this Behindthis time he turned into a specific enemy, and not into a crack separating the world of the living from the world of the dead.

One that applies to any place and circumstance. In the context of the film, geographic distance, the years gone by, or any other possibilities that imply the limits of reality are irrelevant. What is important is the horror that manifests itself in a whole new dimension. In its fifth part this idea is more relevant than ever.

Especially in the first minutes you try to remember the essential points of the universe. Which makes it clear that the new narrative relies almost entirely on what James Wan created to support itself. This point will become more apparent as the film progresses.

Nothing new in a familiar story

Actually the story of Insidious: Red Door it is so indebted to previous plots that without them it would not be fully understood. He is not independent and does not aspire to be. Which is infamous from the start (a direct homage to the first film) and no doubt for taking the pressure off the screen. Closing doors, normal sound and playing with the camera in the dark. The tape manipulates the point of view, trying to mix the fabulous with the real.

But the director lacks the pulse to integrate the macabre — or what will be — into the overall world. So the usual grotesque and even absurd element of the franchise ceases to be a genius twist and becomes a narrative burden. Most of the images are directly related to the saga. Allusions to another universe, soaked in blood, creatures with huge, monstrous eyes. More than once – especially when the story shows that familiar demons have returned – it all feels extremely familiar. More than obvious, meant to be repeatedly reminded that what is hidden in the life of the Lamberts is a core of darkness that cannot be escaped.

A problem that is exacerbated when various allusions to the evil that haunts the Lamberts are repeated over and over again. Although a decade has passed since their last encounter with the unknown, and it seems that life goes on, a world of secrets haunts them.

Whether it’s in dreams, memories, an unrelenting sense of persecution, or the fact that the darkness tenaciously corners them. The truth is that the tape devotes a lot of time to telling the obvious. That the family is only in a brief, obscure, and no doubt fragile period of rest. But that there are debts – invisible and obviously evil – that must be paid with blood and even life.

The fear that awaits the attack

Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins) is no longer a boy, possessed and defeated by forces he doesn’t understand. Now he is a young man who will go to university to study art and has apparently forgotten his traumatic past. Everything around him has also changed. His grandmother has died, his environment has become a hostile space. But at least he is struggling to find his place in the world. That is, until her mind—or the dark force that guides her steps without her knowledge—shows her clues to what she has forgotten. This is none other than what happened when he was in a coma as a child.

However, before reaching this critical point, the narrative provides a rich context for the current life of the family. In particular, the emotional and mental crack that eventually separated them. The element of general condemnation again becomes the focus of the narrative. But never as clear and eloquent as before. Instead, the plot decides to be obvious and makes it clear that after a traumatic experience, no one survives without injury. Thus Scott Tims’ script explores the fact that Lambertthey undergo dramatic changes and, in fact, push them into danger.

When your child begins his adult life, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) As a couple going through hard times. Divorced after the events of the last circumstance, they lived together, they are nothing more than strangers. Which creates fertile ground for the attack of what is hidden in Outland. Even darker, turns both of them into Josh like dalton in the vulnerable victims of the progressive mysterious element that follows them wherever they go.

So the story goes through the possibility that the only thing that kept them out of the darkness was love. It’s a timely moment that, in previous films, has intertwined with the idea of ​​what brings families together and separates them. Much more, turning this connection – ancestry and emotional heritage – into a dangerous sentence that is worn on his back.

A fragile addition to the franchise

But Patrick Wilson isn’t as adept at using fear on familiar ground as James Wan. Unforgettable scenes from the first installments – pale figures that appear and disappear, a fiery red-skinned demon – the film is limited to a familiar background. One of the biggest weaknesses of the fifth installment of the Guile saga is its inability to overcome previous visual and narrative experiments.

We miss the claustrophobic and brutal tension of close-ups or the still camera waiting for the violent event. The focus is on how the franchise has created horror so far. Also how James Wan managed to build a diverse and complex universe with the formal idea of ​​evil.

Without going into too much detail, the franchise has attempted to give its version of fear its own identity. Even in stories where their original characters weren’t essential. Despite different scenarios that went through one common thread, the narrative was flexible and able to show many nuances.

Patrick Wilson is hesitant in his innovations, so the film bears more than an obvious resemblance to Lamberta’s second and last film to appear. In fact, the plot uses the same plot techniques. In the 2013 feature film, moving into Josh’s mother’s house is the trigger for a toxic mystery that haunts its protagonists.

Ten years later, the peaceful oblivion of a decade is disturbed by a new life that every participant must face. As much as the script tries to lend weight to the idea of ​​an eerie bond they can’t escape, the film lacks credibility in its explanation. There are several scenes that show affection, understanding, or at least the heavy legacy everyone carries. Something substantial to delve into the fear scenario, as the feature film suggests.

Further than ever in the afterlife

And all this in the midst of a thin veil that separates the supernatural from the physical world. Also, even more than that, the way each of the previous plots provided information to understand the apparent final chapter of the franchise. From the nature of the afterlife to Josh Lambert’s ability to make contact with the unknown. Gradually, the new tape remembers the place from which it came. But especially where you want to go.

This is, of course, the ultimate showdown with the forces of evil trapped in the ghostly spaces. But again, Patrick Wilson finds no common ground between the characters’ inner and outer journeys. Now the Lamberts must remember the horror that attacked them and can only escape the threat by returning to the endless corridors beyond death.

But if for James Wan the emptiness of existence was a set of intertwined nightmares, then the new director delves into the symbolism. Previously, The Beyond was a projection of horror, now it has its own rules, which are revealed little by little. The play of lights, so recognizable in the saga, once again heralds the danger. Still not as effective as before.

As well as the connection between the living and the dead, as inhabitants of different layers of reality. The director ramps up the tension by hinting that the exit is a secret to be discovered and that it depends on knowledge the characters don’t have access to. Which is trustworthy, as the journey through the shadows of the ghosts turns into a labyrinth that runs through the famous points of the saga.

However, when a film needs to piece together disparate plot pieces, the director can’t find a visual way to capture the supernatural impact. Much less, mixing the concept of inherited fear with the possibility of salvation through love. In its disappointing ending, the film shows its weakness in telling an uncomplicated but emotional story. Between them, the film drifts and falls apart until it becomes a run-of-the-mill horror story. His biggest problem, coming from a saga known for his powerful personality.