The kid from ‘Insidious’ talks the challenges of growing up alongside demons

Over a decade ago, James Wan’s Insidious delighted and terrified horror audiences all over the world, before going on to suffer a similar fate as other wildly successful horror movies-turned-franchises. It’s now four sequels deep, with each entry having endured a steady decline in quality.

However, the imminent release of Insidious: The Red Door has everyone’s ears perked up once again, in no small part thanks to the return of the original Insidious cast, including then-child star Ty Simpkins. Now that he’s all grown up, Simpkins understands the weight of the task on his shoulders – and is fully aware that he’ll need to bring more depth to his role beyond the “spooky child” trope.

In an interview with ComicBook, Simpkins mused about the challenge of turning that spooky child into a three-dimensional young adult with a personality. In order to do so, he enlisted the help of the film’s director, and co-star Patrick Wilson:

“As a kid you’re just there to be scared, or to be creepy or whatever it is. Now, I have to find out who ‘Dalton’ is and also, at the same time, make him likable while also making him very dark and moody and gloomy. But that’s where all the fun came in, and a lot of conversations with Patrick made that very easy and a lot of fun.”

While many may instantly write off Insidious: The Red Door as another cash-grab as a result of Wan’s absence from the director’s chair, at the very least having series mainstay (and honorary scream king) Wilson calling the shots. With the first two Insidious flicks being the cult classics they are, we can probably state with some degree of confidence that Wilson understands the assignment. At the very least, he’s got Wan feeling like a proud dad.

The court of public opinion will surely be chiming in as to whether it’s any good, when Insidious: The Red Door arrives in theaters in just a few days’ time, on July 7.