My Test Screening Experience for Insidious: The Red Door

I had a test screening on 5/3/23. My second free test screening ever was going to be a horror movie with no title given. Based on the questions they asked about movie franchises you've watched, it was almost guaranteed to be a Blumhouse movie and 5 Nights at Freddy's had just wrapped less than a month prior so Insidious was the obvious choice. I showed up right at the earliest check-in time and was actually surprised to see several dozen people already in line. I got my pre-movie questions and NDA (which is why I'm sharing this post after the movie's release despite writing this the next day). The NDA literally says if you post about the movie, they will come after you for a cool million soooo this post can wait. This test screening was much more high security than my first experience. You had to turn your phone in, sign the NDA, and a metal detector wand was used. I got to my seat and waited an hour and 15 minutes for the movie to start. It was quite hilarious seeing a woman come in 10 minutes before the movie starts and go Karen mode because the only seat left was the first row at the end but they had some higher seats that were reserved I assume for executives or professionals of some sort. The main lady in charge eventually went to the front of the theatre and announced the movie was in fact Insidious 5 and we were going to be the first audience ever to see it.

This was a mostly finished cut of the movie. It needed some polishing but it was complete enough to screen without taking you out of the experience. My review of the version I saw was pretty good. It never got too slow and there were plenty of jokes to let you get your heart rate down a bit. Some of the scares or fake-outs were obvious, but still kept you on the edge of your seat. I felt the end wrapped up too quickly and easily, which was my biggest complaint. There were several great scenes. I definitely plan to see what changes are made to the final cut. My score, for now, is story - 18, characters - 16, pacing - 17, spectacle - 19, entertainment - 17, and total - 87%.

Present-day Derek here. I saw the movie again and I would say my initial review is accurate to my current thoughts. The score and colors were improved but other than that the experience was about the same. I may have been a little harsh on the ending, but overall this is a solid entry in the franchise.