Insidious: The Red Door takes us back to the haunting world of the Lambert family. It’s been ten years since the events of Insidious: Chapter 2, and Dalton Lambert is now a grown man, ready to embark on his journey at a prestigious Ivy League university. But as soon as his father, Josh, leaves him there, the demons from his past come back to torment him. To put an end to this nightmare once and for all, Josh and Dalton must return to The Further.
Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, and Lin Shaye reprise their roles in Insidious: The Red Door. Joining the cast are Hiam Abbass, Sinclair Daniel, Peter Dager, and Jarquez McClendon. Directed by Patrick Wilson himself, this film is written by Scott Teems, with James Wan, Jason Blum, and Leigh Whannell serving as producers.
Ty Simpkins and Sinclair Daniel recently sat down with FilmmakerFocus to discuss their experiences working on Insidious: The Red Door. Simpkins talked about collaborating with Wilson as a director and how he wanted to delve into Dalton’s story and explore trauma in this installment. Daniel shared her insights into her character, Kris, and her experience working with Wilson.
Ty Simpkins & Sinclair Daniel on Insidious: The Red Door
FilmmakerFocus: I love the Insidious franchise, it feels so good to be back with the Lambert family, it’s like revisiting old friends. Sinclair, this is my favorite new character in the franchise, absolutely incredible. Ty, you’ve grown up before our eyes in this franchise, can you talk about returning to Insidious as an adult lead in this film, and what you wanted to bring to the role of Dalton that wasn’t on the page?
Ty Simpkins: Yeah, I’m so proud to have this be the thing that’s doing it, and have Patrick, who I’ve known for so long, be at the helm of it. A lot of it was just me and Patrick kind of talking about how trauma affects adults, and how the past trauma of the first two movies would affect Dalton, the type of person that he would have grown into, and just who he is, and what he wants to be, and what he wants to do with his life.
Now, Sinclair, everyone needs a Kris in their life, I truly believe that she’s a true ride or die. Can you tell me a little bit about Kris?
Sinclair Daniel: Yeah, I think you kind of just said it, she is a ride or die. Literally, she will go to the underworld with you, she’s, she’s there for you. And she was so fun to play, because in a lot of situations where I would start overanalyzing, she doesn’t. So, it was like she’s just gonna go for it, because if it’s somebody she cares about, there’s no hesitation. It’s such an empowering quality in a person, and a friend, and a character to play.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Now, Ty, Patrick has played your dad in the first two Insidious films, but you guys go all the way back to 2006 with Little Children, where he played your dad also. But this is the first time he’s ever stepped behind the camera as a director, can you talk to me about what his directing style added to Insidious: The Red Door?
Ty Simpkins: Yeah, with all of that kind of past history, he and I have cultivated a really good relationship over the years, and I find that my best performances come out when you’re that close with the director, when you’re able to talk about things that you think about the character, and then understand what he wants from you, and expects from you so you can kind of find some solid ground in the middle there. Just to have someone that — like, this is a big deal for me, it was very intimidating, the first couple days I was like, “I’m in a lot of this movie, it’s probably the most screen time I’ve ever had,” so having him there was very comforting, and it was great.