Patrick Wilson makes his directorial debut with the fifth (and final?) Insidious film that takes us back to the Lambert family, checking in on them nine years after the events of Insidious 2, which was the last time the family was featured as the main characters in the series.

There are some fun ideas here, and Wilson is obviously an accomplished actor and works to bring his understanding of his craft to the film. Having said that, the film could have done with a stronger script, though once again, Leigh Whannell had his hand in the script, and he’s been one of the guiding forces behind the series since it started.

First, I love the fact that the story takes us back to the Lambert family. I have an issue with the fact that the only people who had their memories blocked were Josh (Wilson) and his son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins) and that it actually tears the family apart, Josh and Renai (Rose Byrne) are divorced and Josh is disconnected from his family.

When Dalton goes off to university, after his dad tries to make amends with him, he encounters his new professor who almost uses a form of hypnosis to settle her charges into an artistic and deep frame of mind.

And that triggers a lot of resurfacing memories for Dalton. Josh is going through the same thing as he tries to understand why he is foggy and unfocused, and soon enough, they are encountering things from the Further, the realm of limbo that is haunted by spirits, and dark entities.

The story could have been stronger, though I love how it works to tie itself into the Lambert family continuity, tying in with both the original and second film. Unfortunately, with the previous films’ events, we only get glimpses of Specs (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) and not much more than a cameo from Lin Shaye as Elise.

The Lipstick Demon (Joseph Bishara) is back but doesn’t get near enough screen time, and there are some cool spirits, but that won’t save everything. Having said that, Wilson does a nice job of framing his images, drawing our eyes to the negative space around the actors because we’re sure something is going to happen, and oftentimes it does.

There are a few jump scares, but nothing that makes this a standout entry. It’s nice to see how the Lambert family wraps their supernatural narrative up, but I think it deserved a stronger story, and more Specs and Tucker.

I like this series, it feels like a bit of an homage to Poltergeist, but it never completely realizes its full potential, and that’s a little sad. With a cast that includes Wilson, Byrne and Shaye, you’d hope for something a little, well, more.

But I still dig the idea.