There might not be an “Insidious: Out of the Further” without franchise star Lin Shaye.
Before creatives confirmed production of the now-released film, a sixth installment of the horror franchise was in the early stages of development at Sony. But after a behind-the-scenes regime change, the movie was scrapped from Sony’s upcoming slate.
“Fuck this,” Shaye thought after learning of the film’s cancellation.
Eager to still bring the story to the big screen, Shaye wrote a letter to Sony chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, whom she’d met while filming 1998’s “There’s Something About Mary,” pleading for the sixth movie to be made. It wasn’t necessarily an act for herself, the 82-year-old scream queen says, but for the franchise’s passionate fanbase. Shaye’s bold move worked: Rothman agreed to greenlight the project.
“It gives me chills because I don’t consider myself a mover and a shaker,” Shaye tells Variety, logging on to Zoom from her Los Angeles home. “It’s not like I single-handedly got this movie made, but I spoke up. I think speaking up must never, ever stop. Don’t ever stop.”
Championing “Insidious” marked a pivotal moment for Shaye after spending more than five decades in an industry where she often felt she was taken less seriously as a woman. Despite making significant contributions to the film business across her diverse filmography — ranging from “Dead End” to “Dumb and Dumber” — there was still a lingering sense of powerlessness.
“I’m going to live until I’m 250, because I’m taking all this gorgeous energy that’s being delivered to me in such a graceful way. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” Shaye says. “I don’t feel powerful, but I don’t feel powerless.”
As much as Shaye was ready to be heard, the world was certainly ready to listen. “Insidious: Out of the Further,” from writer-director James Chase, hit theaters on Friday, challenging “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” for the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office. “Brand New Day” ultimately triumphed with a $39 million domestic total, but “Insidious” landed at No. 2, debuting with an impressive $25.3 million gross against an $18 million production budget. (The franchise’s five prior installments generated a combined $800 million worldwide against low budgets.)
“Insidious” debuted in 2010, introducing audiences to an alternate realm known as the Further. Shaye plays Elise Rainer, a dimension-traveling psychic who helps people fight off demons, even from the afterlife. Although Elise was killed in the first movie, Shaye has appeared in all five subsequent films, becoming one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.
“Insidious: Out of the Further” follows Gemma (Amelia Eve), who can not only astral project, but can also carry objects across dimensions — including demons. But in between the jump scares and supernatural horrors is a story of motherhood and confronting the past. When Elise hears Gemma’s screams for help in the Further, she doesn’t hesitate to rush to the stranger’s side and guides Gemma as she learns new truths behind the trauma passed down from her mother (Laura Gordon), while vowing to protect her own daughter (Island Austin).
Like Gemma, Shaye cites motherhood as an important storyline in her own life, particularly when it came to having this movie made. Her letter to Rothman was inspired by moments from Shaye’s childhood, when she watched her mother, Dorothy Shaye, unabashedly speak up for herself.
“My mom was a fighter,” Shaye says, her voice breaking as tears well up in her eyes. “As a little girl, I remember feeling so proud that she was so strong.”
These underlying themes and emotionally relatable characters are key (perhaps even “The Last Key”) to the “Insidious” films’ continued success after 15 years. “The thing about this franchise I find really fabulous is there’s underlying big issues that are tackled in a very theatrical way, but they resonate because they’re not delivered to you upfront,” Shaye says. “It’s delivered in story.”
Storytelling is innate to the Shaye family. Her father, supermarket owner and artist Max Shaye, told bedtime stories of a white horse flying Lin to faraway Candyland. (“There’d always be pastrami trees and bushes because my dad loved deli food,” she recalls, laughing.) Her brother, Robert Shaye, began making movies as a teen and went on to found New Line Cinema. And Shaye isn’t looking to stop telling stories anytime soon, especially Elise’s.
“Insidious: The Last Key,” the franchise’s fourth film which premiered in 2018, served as a prequel to Elise’s story, giving audiences a glimpse at the traumatic aspects of her childhood — detailing her abusive relationship with her father and how her family perceives her supernatural abilities. But even after six movies, there’s still plenty of Elise’s story left to explore, as well as the supernatural realm she inhabits.
For starters, we still don’t know exactly what the Further is, and Shaye has some questions too: “What is the Further? What happens there? Is it the same for everybody?”
Will audiences ever receive some answers? Shaye isn’t saying no. In fact, she’s open to the possibility of future “Insidious” installments. “I think it’s really not over. I just don’t think it is,” she says.
As Shaye continues to explore the concept of the beyond, she’s also found herself wondering about how Elise spends her free time in the Further. She’d like to picture her character alongside her golden retriever, Warren, always listening for the screams of those who need help (“She’s a very keen listener,” Shaye says of the character).
After more than a decade of playing Elise, Shaye still finds it difficult to fully grasp the character’s hold on audiences.
“People really do love that woman,” Shaye says, describing what it felt like to hear 7,000 people chant her name at a fan event in Peru earlier this month.
“And I say ‘that woman’ because it’s hard for me to recognize that I created that,” she continues. “I have trouble accepting my own success in some ways; I’m always picking: ‘This could be better, and this could be better.’ I’m never quite satisfied.”
But what Shaye does find satisfying is that Elise came to vivid life across this series, beyond her expectations.
“This is a woman who is not particularly attractive, who doesn’t have anything that’s very sensational about her. What’s sensational about her is that she’s a good listener, and that’s a very important thing,” Shaye says. “It’s bigger than we think, in a way. Women are not really heard as much as men are; we like to think they are, but we get shut out a lot. There’s more to her story.”