What’s unique about the Insidious franchise is The Further, a dimension where tortured souls and evil entities reside. Unfortunately, it’s never worked for me. It looks bland, feels overly CGI-heavy, and tries so hard to be scary that everything becomes dreamlike, stripping away any sense of realism or weight.

Honestly, the place sucks so badly that even the demons have had enough and want out. So when the sixth instalment was titled Out of the Further, I was ready to see how they’d refresh this tired franchise. But of course, to get out of The Further, you once again have to go back in… and in… and in… and in.

This instalment moves on from the Lambert family of the previous films and introduces a new protagonist, Gemma, played by Amelia Eve (The Haunting of Bly Manor). She’s a dentist by day and a single mother by night, carrying a dark past that comes back to haunt her. She’ll need to protect her daughter with help from her throwaway boyfriend, played by Brandon Perea, and an underdeveloped Further know-it-all played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Luckily, there’s also a friendly face in Elise Rainier, once again played by the wonderful Lin Shaye, a franchise mainstay who unfortunately has about as much screen time as a cameo here.

I don’t think this new team is strong enough to carry the series forward. I miss Patrick Wilson as The Dad. He was always a highlight of the previous films, and there’s just something about seeing him get thrown into these horrific situations that worked so well. And where the hell are the paranormal investigators Specs and Tucker? I miss those guys too.

The horror is run-of-the-mill stuff, but at times it takes on a goofy, Sam Raimi-esque style. If you thought any of the demons from the previous movies looked campy, wait until you meet the ones here. And honestly, I’m fine with that. I just wish the movie committed more to the demonic lore and leaned further into the goofiness, if that’s what they’re going for. I must commend director Jacob Chase (Come Play) on some outstanding visuals, with the demons in particular making a stylish return.

Most of the scares are your standard suburban home hauntings, using darkness, lighting and wardrobes to deliver predictable in-your-face jump scares. But I did enjoy the dentistry gross-out scene. It’s easily one of the more seat-squirming moments of the film. The sound design is effective too, from the whine of the dental drill to the slow-building quiet scenes, which really elevate the tension.

The bigger problem is that, because we’re following a new family, they go through the same motions: experiencing the hauntings, discovering The Further, and figuring out what role they play in all of it. And that’s the majority of the movie. The events of the climax needed to come much earlier so we could spend more time exploring a new side of this franchise with higher stakes.

This franchise desperately needs more creativity. The first two were decent, but it’s six movies in and we’re still retreading the same concept. That said, if you’re a fan of the franchise, Insidious: Out of the Further does tick all the boxes of the previous films.

Oh, and in case you haven’t had enough of The Further, stay through the credits.