Insidious movies in order
Six films, and the third and fourth are both prequels. Chronological order costs nothing and gains a character arc.
Updated 22 August 2026 · 6 titles tracked
The Insidious films alternate between two stories: the Lambert family, and the medium who helps them, Elise Rainier.
Films three and four are both prequels about Elise. That means chronological order simply moves them to the front: and unlike most franchises, doing so improves things.
The sixth, Out of the Further, is a direct sequel to The Red Door with an entirely new family, so it sits last in both orders and needs nothing rearranged around it.
The Insidious films in chronological order
The two Elise prequels first, then the Lambert story.
- 1Insidious: Chapter 32015 · The Elise Prequels
- 2Insidious: The Last Key2018 · The Elise Prequels
- 3Insidious2011 · The Lambert Films · Essential
- 4Insidious: Chapter 22013 · The Lambert Films · Essential
- 5Insidious: The Red Door2023 · The Lambert Films
- 6Insidious: Out of the Further2026 · After the Lamberts
Why chronological order works here
In release order you meet Elise, watch what happens to her in Chapter 2, and only then get two films explaining who she was. Her story is told backwards.
In chronological order (Chapter 3, The Last Key, Insidious, Chapter 2, The Red Door, Out of the Further) she gets a complete arc running forward, and the Lambert films land differently because you already know what she is carrying.
Nothing is spoiled either way. The prequels give away very little about the main films.
The order
Chronological: Chapter 3, The Last Key, Insidious, Chapter 2, The Red Door, Out of the Further.
Release: Insidious, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, The Last Key, The Red Door, Out of the Further.
Insidious and Chapter 2 must stay together in either version. Chapter 2 begins the moment the first film ends and loops back through its events.
Which are worth watching
The first film is the one that matters. One of James Wan's best, and frightening before it goes somewhere stranger in its final act. Chapter 2 completes it.
The two prequels are decent and considerably better than most horror sequels of their era. The Red Door is the weakest and easily skipped.
Out of the Further is the newest and the only one that leaves both the Lamberts and the prequel era behind, with Lin Shaye the single thread carried across.
Common questions
What order should I watch the Insidious movies?
Chronological order works well: Chapter 3, The Last Key, Insidious, Chapter 2, The Red Door, then Out of the Further. Release order is Insidious, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, The Last Key, The Red Door, Out of the Further.
Are Insidious Chapter 3 and The Last Key prequels?
Yes, both. They follow Elise Rainier before she meets the Lambert family, with The Last Key set between Chapter 3 and the original film.
How many Insidious movies are there?
Six. Insidious, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, The Last Key, The Red Door and Out of the Further, released in August 2026 as a direct sequel to The Red Door.
Does watching Insidious in chronological order spoil anything?
No. The prequels reveal very little about the main films, and watching them first gives Elise a complete forward arc.