“Did You See It?” is a review column where we watch trending movies and share our honest impressions and key takeaways. <Editor’s Note>
[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] Dental hygienist Gemma (Amelia Eve) is peering into the mouth of an elderly man lying in a dental chair. She discovers something between his teeth: a strand of hair. As she carefully pulls on it, one strand, then another, keeps coming out endlessly. Finally, just as she reaches her hand into his mouth, another tooth hidden behind his teeth bites down hard on her finger.

This single scene alone is enough to explain what kind of movie *Insidious: Beyond* is. It’s bizarre, unsettling, and above all, genuinely terrifying. Throughout the entire runtime, one spine-chilling scene follows another in rapid succession. It feels as if you’ve entered a haunted house only to find ghosts lined up waiting for you all the way to the exit.
“Insidious: Beyond” tells the story of malevolent entities from “The Further”—the realm of the dead—searching for a passageway into the human world. One day, ghostly apparitions begin to appear around Gemma and her daughter Maya, who were living ordinary lives. Through the medium Ellis (Lynn Shaye), Gemma learns that she is a “carrier” who summons spirits from “The Further” into the real world.
Rather than taking a different approach, this film sticks to the tried-and-true formula. It faithfully follows the conventions of jump scares—a technique the series has honed over the years. Sounds fade away, the camera moves slowly, and a suspicious empty space appears in the corner of the screen. Just when you think, “It’s about to appear,” it inevitably does. Yet, even knowing this, you still get scared.

While predictable horror might seem lackluster, *Insidious* leverages that familiarity as a strength. It doesn’t stop at simply startling the audience with loud noises and sudden appearances; instead, it methodically builds up eerie imagery and unsettling textures. As a result, the impact of a single jump scare feels weighty. It hits the mark precisely, delivering a powerful punch.
The film’s skill in utilizing space remains as strong as ever. From a run-down house to a dentist’s office to a pillow fort made of 250 cushions, places that should be ordinary or comfortable are instantly transformed into spaces of terror. The eeriness is amplified the more familiar the setting is to everyday life. The spatial design itself—which keeps you wondering, “Where will it jump out from?”—is part of the horror.
It’s also a pleasure to see the new protagonist, Gemma, meet the series’ iconic character, Alice. By pairing Alice—who knows the dangers of “The Far Side” better than anyone—with Gemma, who gets swept up in the events due to abilities she didn’t even know she had, the film both continues the existing universe and opens up a new story. It offers familiarity to series fans while providing a relatively easy entry point for first-time viewers.
On top of that, iconic spirits from the series—including “Lipstick Face,” “The Black Bride,” “Stone Girl,” and “Key Face”—appear one after another, joined by a new spirit, Cyrus. It’s literally the “Evil Avengers.” By shifting the focus from individual spirits to a swarm of them, the film amplifies both the visual scale and the sense of pressure.

Recently, the theaters have been flooded with horror films, each touting new concepts and formats. Amidst this trend, the approach taken by *Insidious: They Came Over* is, in fact, refreshingly straightforward. Rather than striving to be scary in new ways, the filmmakers know exactly what it is that has startled audiences in the past. They jump out exactly when you expect them to, and even when you know they’re coming, they still make you flinch.
That’s why *Insidious: They Came Through* feels familiar yet is by no means easy to handle. It relentlessly unleashes grotesque imagery, unsettling settings, and perfectly timed jump scares. It effectively demonstrates why “primordial fear” is so terrifying. Directed by Jacob Chase. Runtime: 105 minutes 44 seconds. Opens August 20.