How to watch the ‘Insidious’ movies in order

Few modern horror franchises have found their footing and produced multiple sequels as well as Insidious, and the franchise is arguably just heating up.

The franchise has a unique premise that puts a spin on the typical possession narrative while still maintaining the scares you’d expect from a spine-tingling project in the horror genre. Over the course of multiple movies, the Insidious story has grown substantially, with plenty of new stories added to the mix.

Whether you’ve seen Insidious before or are diving into the franchise for the very first time, there are two ways you can go about watching the movies.

So, make sure to press pause on your astral projection and follow along as we unfold the different orders in which you can experience everything Insidious has to offer.

How to watch the Insidious movies in chronological order

Watching all of the Insidious movies in order isn’t as simple as it seems, as the later films are set before the initial two. To stick within the franchise’s chronological storyline, before you watch the first Insidious movie, you’ll want to catch Chapter 3 and The Last Key.

Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)

Insidious: Chapter 3 serves as a prequel to the original film, which demonstrates just how talented Elise Rainier is as a psychic before she’s enlisted to assist the Lambert family. In this film, a teenager named Quinn Brenner is sure her mother is trying to contact her from beyond the grave and asks Elise for her help. However, it takes a demon attacking Quinn and some begging from her father before Elise finally agrees to help.

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Now an accomplished parapsychologist, Elise is called to help out with a haunting that just so happens to be taking place at her childhood home. In this film, we take a look even further into Elise’s past as she’s forced to confront and remedy a mistake she made many years prior.

Insidious (2010)

The Lamberts believe their home is haunted after their child falls into a never-ending sleep. After trying everything to wake him, the couple recruits Elise for help. They discover that their son Dalton is stuck in a realm called the Further and that retrieving him will see them meet the wrath of a strange demon. As the first release in the series, this film was a breath of fresh air that set the stage for its eventual sequels. It’s largely hailed as the best entry in the franchise and is definitely a must-watch for any horror enthusiast.

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

After the events of the first film, the Lambert family is ready for things to get back to normal; however, that won’t be simple given that Josh has been possessed. With the help of Elise and others, Lorraine sets out to defeat the malevolent forces, but in order to do so, she’ll have to go deep into the ghost-hunting world.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

Despite the fact that it isn’t yet out, we do know that the next installment in this horror franchise, The Red Door, will be the furthest along in the timeline so far. In this sequel, we’ll follow Dalton, now a teenager, as he heads off to university, but as you’d expect, the spirits aren’t yet ready to leave him alone.

While this is the proper chronological order to watch the films, you can also watch them in order of their theatrical release and enjoy the story just as much. Here’s the release date order for movies in the Insidious universe:

• Insidious (2010)
• Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
• Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
• Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
• Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

Either of these viewing methods is acceptable, so it really just depends on whether you prefer to have the context of the initial two movies before jumping into the most recent additions. Either way, you’re going to witness plenty of spooks and scares.