Insidious (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: James Wan

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye

Release Date: June 13, 2023

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

Please Note: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Insidious’ accompanies a family who shortly after moving into a new house begins to experience odd occurrences followed by their son suddenly falling into an unexplainable coma. Fully convinced that their new home is haunted, the family relocates to a new house only to have the terror and odd events continue at an alarming rate. With doctors unable to provide any answers or reasoning for their son’s coma and darkness plaguing their lives, the family enlists the help of a woman with unique talents only to learn that it isn’t the house that’s haunted but their son.

‘Insidious’ is directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell (the duo having previously worked together on ‘Saw’ and ‘Dead Silence’) and Wan does an outstanding job guiding this eerie tale along with beauty, style and a clever approach that keeps the viewer feeling appropriately uneasy throughout. The film’s cast includes Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell and Barbara Hershey who each offer solid, or at least fitting performances for the most part in their roles and it all helps a great deal to make this film as terrifying and thrilling today as it was when it first hit theatres years ago.

‘Insidious’ was unleashed upon moviegoers in 2011 (not including a couple of festival screenings) and delivered a creepy, visually spectacular and just plain exciting horror film that offered a refreshing twist on the haunted house movie we’re typically accustomed to, serving up one creepy moment and surprise after another, and it still effortlessly provides all of the terror, jump-scares and creepiness today that it did twelve years ago. I still remember catching this one in theaters on opening weekend and being utterly blown away by how great it was, not to mention its ability to prove that a horror movie definitely doesn’t need an R rating and piles of gore to be magnificent, especially if can capably provide fresh scares and new ideas with a visual style and approach that’s an absolute treat to experience in its own right. While not every sequel was quite as impressive as this first installment (although at least one came awfully close) ‘Insidious’ has still evolved into an undeniably enjoyable franchise, yet upon revisiting them there’s little question that this original installment is probably still the best of the bunch.

Ahead of the theatrical release for ‘Insidious: The Red Door’ this July, the fifth and supposedly final installment in the series, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings the original ‘Insidious’ home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever in a new Limited Edition Steelbook release that fans should be quite thrilled with. The new release features a gorgeous, full Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 that was approved by director James Wan and the stellar new video presentation is only splendidly complemented by a new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that expands the film’s soundtrack nicely, along with a few previously released extras on top of it (most of which can be found on the included Blu-ray disc).

The 4K Ultra HD release of ‘Insidious’ comes home in a solid, sturdy and glossy Steelbook case which looks gorgeous (but be careful of fingerprints because it’s a dark one) and shows the original artwork on the front and the red door on the rear, in addition to some of Dalton’s artwork from the movie featured on the interior. It’s a great 4K UHD debut for this phenomenal horror film that should leave fans very pleased and if you’re fully capable and already considering a purchase, this one is definitely recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Insidious’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio and approved by director James Wan. The video presentation looks magnificent as a whole and provides a clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that’s absent of any unexpected problems to be uncovered along the way. The release shows some noticeable improvement from the already stellar Blu-ray release and everything from character faces to backgrounds, along with dark scenery and everything else within looks remarkably clean and crisp across the board. The Dolby Vision addition also contributes some improvements with its rewarding color palette which offers sharp, full bodied colors complemented by deep, seemingly endless black levels. Overall, this is a fantastic Ultra High Definition video presentation that shouldn’t elicit any complaints from the fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite the treat itself and delivers a clean, crisp and repeatedly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It regularly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send the booming music, plus creepy sound effects, bits of laughter and dialogue, along with more throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that sounds wonderful every step of the way and should thrill the film’s fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Insidious’ features a few previously released extras, the majority of which can be found on the included Blu-ray disc. The 4K UHD disc includes the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (running approximately 2 minutes in length), while the Blu-ray disc features the Behind the Scenes Featurettes ‘Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar’ (running approximately 10 minutes in length), ‘On Set with Insidious’ (running approximately 8 minutes), and ‘Insidious Entities’ (approximately 6 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Insidious’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD as A Limited Edition Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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