What actually happens
A drop-off at college that goes about as well as any other
It is 2019, nine years after the possession that sent his family into The Further, and Josh no longer remembers any of it. He is divorced from his wife Renai, his mother Lorraine has recently died, and his nineteen-year-old son Dalton barely talks to him. Josh tries to patch things up while driving Dalton to college, and they end up arguing instead. In his first art class, Dalton draws the red door that leads into The Further without knowing why. At home, Josh is visited by the spirit of a man, who turns out to be his father, Ben Burton, whom Josh believed had walked out on the family. Dalton goes to a frat party with his roommate Chris and sees the ghost of a student who vomits constantly. He wanders into The Further by accident, and Chris shows him a video by Specs and Tucker about astral projection, and that video points him to footage of Elise Rainier talking about The Further.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
An art project with unfortunate subject matter
Dalton tries astral projection again while Chris watches over his body. An unseen entity attacks Chris, and her screams bring Dalton back, where he sees the red-faced demon from his childhood. This is the scene to brace for, and it comes in the middle of the movie. Chris warns him off using his abilities again. Dalton phones his brother Foster instead, who describes a dream he used to have about Josh trying to kill them. That brings Dalton's memory back, and he completes the painting, which shows a possessed Josh standing in front of the red door. Dalton is pulled into The Further and back to the basement, where possessed Josh is about to attack the young Dalton. Dalton tackles his father, and the movement carries him to the demon's lair.
Dad does some research, and gets rather more than he planned for
Back in the living world, Josh looks into his father and learns that Ben took his own life while he was in a mental hospital. Josh goes to Renai, who tells him what really happened to the family a decade earlier. She adds that Ben could also astral project, and that he put his visions down to mental illness. Foster then shows them the photo Dalton texted him of the painting, and they both understand that Dalton is in danger. Renai helps Josh go back into The Further to find their son.
A red door and a very large black paintbrush
With Dalton trapped in the lair, the demon takes over his body and goes after Chris, but Josh finds the real Dalton and frees him, which stops it. The demon follows them as far as the red door, where Josh stays behind and holds it closed so that Dalton can get through. Dalton gets back into his body and covers the red door on his canvas in black paint, and the real door and The Further close for good. Josh meets his father's spirit, who leads him back to the living world. Renai asks Josh to dinner with her and the kids, and he says yes, so a reunion looks possible. On his way out he meets Elise's spirit without knowing it, and she tells him he has a bright future. He drives to Dalton's college, where Dalton unveils a new painting: Josh carrying a young Dalton out of The Further.
The ending, explained
Josh stays behind to keep the red door shut so Dalton can get out. Dalton wakes up in his body, paints over his red door in black, and the real door and The Further are sealed. Josh's father, Ben, guides him back to the living world, where Renai invites him to dinner with the kids. Elise's spirit tells him he has a bright future, and he drives to Dalton's college. Dalton shows him a new painting of his father carrying him out of The Further, and the two of them reconcile.
The post-credits ruling
Yes. In a scene after the credits, the light above the sealed door into The Further flickers on again.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, and no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Insidious: The Red Door scary?
Somewhat. Insidious: The Red Door is a 4.5 out of 10 with low dread, and it relies on jump scares and a red-faced demon, with a father-and-son story between them.
How does Insidious: The Red Door end?
Josh holds the red door shut so Dalton can escape, and Dalton paints over his red door in black, which seals The Further. Josh's father's spirit guides Josh back, and Josh and Dalton reconcile.
Does the dog die in Insidious: The Red Door?
No. No dog dies in Insidious: The Red Door, and no other animal dies either.
Is there a post-credits scene in Insidious: The Red Door?
Yes. Insidious: The Red Door has a post-credits scene in which the light by the sealed door to The Further comes back on.
Who is the ghost haunting Josh in Insidious: The Red Door?
It is Josh's father, Ben Burton. Josh believed Ben had abandoned the family, but Ben died in a mental hospital after he decided that his ability to astral project was an illness.
