I decided to watch the “Insidious” franchise in chronological, not theatrical release order starting with “Insidious: Chapter 3” (2015) then moving on to “Insidious: The Last Key” (2018) to prepare for “Insidious: Out of the Further” (2026), so “Insidious” (2010) is third on the list. OK, so now I see what the fuss is about. We used to be a society. When Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins) becomes unconscious, but doctors say that he is not in a coma, his mother, Renai (Rose Byrne) is desperate for answers, which leads her to getting help from paranormal investigators, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), Specs (writer Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). His father, Josh (Patrick Wilson) is skeptical, but a revelation from his mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey), makes him realize that he is the key to Dalton waking up, but at what price? While not necessarily scary, the story is completely absorbing and chock full of surprises with an outstanding ensemble cast. It is so far the best looking one in the bunch thanks to director and coeditor James Wan and not one, but two cinematographers, David M. Brewer and John R. Leonetti. They were firing on all cylinders when they started this franchise.

“Insidious” has good actors as far as the eye can see. This movie could be the horror prequel to “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (2025) with Byrne as Renai. While setting up house and trying to reinvigorate her career as a songwriter, the overwhelmed mom is carrying the entire family on her back, which includes Dalton’s younger siblings, Foster (Andrew Astor) and baby, Kali (Brynn and Madison Bowie). Meanwhile Josh, though pleasant, is treating his family duties as elective, and Renai does her best to be gentle as she verbalizes her needs. When Dalton gets sick, Josh checks out even more, but even staying away from home and working late does not mean that he has stopped thinking of the problem. He has strange dreams (also a drawing of Jigsaw from the “Saw” franchise behind him).

Let’s talk about Wilson for a second. That man stays getting a job with enough acting chops to maintain credibility when he goes indie (“Hard Candy,” “A Gifted Man,” “Jay Kelly”) and multiple franchises under his belt so he will never get broke: “Watchmen,” “Insidious,” “The Conjuring” and for awhile the DC Extended Universe when Zack Snyder ruled the land. Though attractive and in terrific shape (the man does not age), he also looks normal enough to move around in public without getting mobbed. Wilson should mentor less successful actors on how to be a well-rounded actor with a balanced life. Wilson is really great in this one because his character must retain the audience’s sympathy while clearly being wrong. He is a bad dad, but not an irredeemable one. Also, he has a great backstory that explains everything.

Cue Barbara Hershey, who brings an instant gravitas to “Insidious” that helps the story focus as a mother in solidarity as if the history of her own acting career transmuted to her character. First, she is an acting and horror legend: “The Entity” (1982), “Black Swan” (2010), and “Once Upon a Time” to name a few. Second, she still looks fabulous. The costume and wardrobe department set the tone dressing her in black and red, which are the colors of the Lipstick-Faced Demon (Joseph Bishara, who also composed the score), and echoes the flannel shirts that Josh and Dalton wear in the final act. Side note: hi, quick question, Whannell. Why the hell did you call the chief entity Lipstick-Faced Demon when the dialogue has a perfectly good name, “the man with fire on his face?” Too long?

The mythology actually makes sense here and is spelled out, but subsequently released films do not do as good of a job explaining the logistics of this world. It also hides some of Elise’s talents under a bushel leaving Josh to do a lot of the heavy lifting alone, which works out well, but for the chronological order audience, is puzzling and will leave them having to infer reasons. There are tortured souls, i.e. the dead, and evil entities, i.e. demons, who look like monsters. Both sets would ideally like to possess someone, and it would be a spoiler to explain why Dalton is vulnerable, but it is a well-done theory. The best twist of “Insiduous” is switching from a haunted house story to a possession story. Honestly, I would not have seen it coming if I had watched it when it was originally released, not sixteen years later. The one thing that the prequels do better than the original is the living versus the dead fights, at least in “Insidious: Chapter 3.” Kudos to Dalton for being a smart kid and ready to get the hell out of there even if he must leave his living rescuer behind.

Elise and her sidekicks are at their most badass here. The comedic relief lies in the competition between the two guys for relevance to Elise’s work, and they do seem competent and knowledgeable here compared to the prequels where they seem more like muscle, moral support and a ride. “Insidious” plays out as if everyone is Elise’s hype man starting with Lorraine then the guys leading to a build up until a sweet, older, affable lady comes in then Shaye does a great job of alternating between being reassuring and trying to mask her alarm, so everyone does not freak out. When did they come up with the gas mask schtick? Dunno, but it is cool. You will never see it again.

Wan’s choice in camera movement and collaboration with co-editor Kirk M. Morri keeps the momentum of “Insidious” going without feeling like busy work. There are even some “The Evil Dead” (1981) homage beats. An aggravating aspect of horror films is not having a sense of where characters are in relation to each other or the structure of the house. Wan never has that problem in “Insidious,” so when he starts picking up the pace in editing and focusing more, it does not get messy but enhances the suspense. He uses rhythm and movement to produce catharsis. So while the overall result of his oeuvre is like fast food, he has the chops to elevate when he wants.

Let’s not forget about the cinematographers. Brewer and Leonetti offer more color in the real world until things start going south then the color begins to bleed out of the palette and “Insidious” verges on becoming a black and white film, which makes The Further more startling and vibrant with its reds and sickly greens, mist and fog, etc. The subsequently released films do not make The Further seem supernatural though all the spectres do feel as if they could work at a haunted house or worse, hipsters with a proclivity of dressing in the Fifties style.

Did “Insiduous” scare me? No. Did it impress me? Yes. It may not be top tier horror, but it is damned entertaining, well crafted, well-acted and left me wanting more. It actually pushed the needle to make me want to finally delve into the “Saw” franchise with Wan and Whannell as collaborators, and considering my aversion for torture porn, that is saying something.