With the upcoming release of the fifth movie in the Insidious franchise, Insidious: The Red Door, fans of the horror series have been eagerly anticipating what the next installment has in store for the characters who’ve been subject to the whims of various evil poltergeists and spirits over the previous four films. While Red Door returns us to the unfortunate Lambert family, specifically a grown-up Dalton Lambert as he heads off to college only to find that his demons are following him in more ways than one, the previous two films were prequels.
Lin Shaye, the actress who played the spirit-seeking woman in the first, third, and fourth films and her ghost in both the second and most recent movies, is hopeful that we might be seeing more of her character in the future. In an interview with Digital Spy, Shaye made some positive noises about Elise Rayner potentially getting another film in which she’d be the main protagonist.
Though Elise was killed in the first film, such was her importance to the movies that she returned as a spirit in the second. The third and fourth movies focused on her activities before she met the Lambert family, delving into her childhood, how she began contacting the spirits that haunt the cast in the films, and a previous case she took on involving the same spirits that now haunt the Lamberts.
“I think for Elise, there’s more to do,” Shaye said, before adding:
“I have a great idea. The fact that she is in the Further, and I have this one thought that I haven’t even talked about really to anybody, but that she’s able to transform. She has transformational qualities that we don’t know about, and that could open up a whole new set of characters for her and for a storyline.”
Considering we’ve already seen Elise reappear as a ghost, and she is set to do the same in the latest film, this wouldn’t be the most left-field thing for the Insidious producers to consider. The franchise hasn’t been shy about opening up to various aspects of the horror genre, and that includes delving into things beyond simple possession and demonology. However, there hasn’t been any real confirmation that this might be the case — although that hasn’t stopped Shaye from speculating.
With that all said, Shaye is a horror legend in her own right, with a career that stretches back nearly half a century and includes appearances in other jump-scare classics like Alone in the Dark and Nightmare on Elm Street. So, to give her another film of her own wouldn’t be a huge risk, as her background and acting ability means she’d almost certainly deliver. Plus, she and the fans of the franchise seem to really adore the character of Elise, and the fact that the medium is now a spiritual rather than physical being opens up a lot more doors when it comes to potential plot ideas, as she noted in the interview:
“I love the character and so does the audience, which is even more important, so I don’t think we’re done with her at all. Once you’re in the Further, you can do anything.”
There are already plans in the works for a sixth Insidious film, which will be titled Thread: An Insidious Tale. It has been confirmed that this will not include the Lambert family, and will instead star Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani, which means that we might not get another chance to see Elise unless there’s a seventh film made. With that all said, if the producers did want to get more from the horror legend, then we’re certain she’d be happy to put the effort in, and audiences would love it too. The only question that remains is how quickly they can get it out to satiate the fans.
Insidious: The Red Door will be released in theaters on July 7.
