Insidious: Out of the Further arrives in movie theaters today, and the film’s cast believes the sixth installment in the franchise is finally going somewhere it hasn’t gone before. In a new interview with the Reel Appreciation Podcast, the film’s lead, Amelia Eve, co-star Brandon Perea, and veteran Lin Shaye discussed what it took to break out to a brand new corner of the Insidious mythology.
Directed by Jacob Chase, Out of the Further focuses on a young mother (Amelia Eve) who discovers that she has the ability to enter The Further and bring things back with her into the real world.
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For Eve, grounding the supernatural premise of the film meant starting from a very emotional place. “I guess emotionally, just taking the body there, really — if anything,” she said revealing her thinking process in bringing the character to life. “The storyline itself gives so much fuel to be able to build that world and to build all of the emotional connections needed. But maybe the challenge was having to feel it before, rather than think it, you know? Because I believe you can only really make an audience feel something if you’re feeling it yourself. You’ve got to feel traumatized in order to traumatize your audience.”
Perea, who most audiences will remember for his role as Angel Torres in Jordan Peele’s Nope, said he purposely tried to avoid putting his stamp on the franchise because he was such a big fan growing up. “I don’t know if there was really intention in the sense of bringing something specific to the Insidious world. I think I just kind of wanted to cater to the story that we were gifted,” he said, crediting the screenwriter and the script for the characters. “I just kind of took the pressure of Insidious out of it, especially me being such a fan of the franchise. I couldn’t put that pressure on myself, or you would just get a false performance from me.”
Of course that didn’t mean that his nerves didn’t get the best of him. “Was I nervous at first when I got handed this whole franchise? Yeah, of course — I’m such a fan of it,” Perea admitted, before mentioning the franchise’s stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, and, of course, Shaye, who he was seated next to. “Hopefully we’re doing our thing and hopefully the fans love it.”
Shaye, of course, is the real big star of the franchise now. Insidious: Out of the Further will be the sixth time she plays Elise Rainier. Talking about the new entry, the 82-year-old actress spoke about how things are expanding moving forward. “I think the premise of Insidious is solid, but I think the joy in discovering new stories is very important, and I think the fact that they’re opening up a whole ‘nother world is fabulous. I’m ready to go.”
Talking about her character Elise’s reinvention in the franchise, Shaye promised a lot more to come. “My goal is to add new little pearls to the necklace of this character and keep her interesting and yet consistent with what people love about her,” she said. “So I hope I bring something a little spicy — something, I don’t know. We’ll have to see what’s going to happen, but I’m very much enjoying the process.”
Given that the previous five films — including the underrated Chapter 3 prequel — earned a total of $740 million at the global box office, there’s a lot of pressure on Insidious: Out of the Further to do the same, especially as it enters theaters against a horror landscape where the franchise’s own films have consistently ranked among the scariest movies ever measured.
Insidious: Out of the Further is now playing in theaters. You can also buy tickets and find showtimes through Sony’s official site.
Watch the full interview below:
