A horror movie that released more than a decade ago is now soaring on streaming charts, despite receiving a decidedly mixed reception when it first arrived. Insidious: Chapter 2 was released in 2013, but it has just jumped seven places on AMC’s Top 10 Movies list, per FlixPatrol. The Insidious sequel now sits at #3 in the US, an impressive resurgence for a film that received poor reviews.
Directed by James Wan and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins, Insidious: Chapter 2 continues the Lambert family’s story after the events of the first movie, as they attempt to move on from their terrifying encounter with the paranormal. In true Insidious fashion, though, it doesn’t take long for the Lamberts to realize that the danger surrounding them has not disappeared.
Insidious: Chapter 2 Has a 38% Critic Score on Rotten Tomatoes
The Insidious franchise can be something of a mixed bag; critics generally agree that the original movie is the franchise’s best, while entries like The Last Key (2018) and Chapter 2 (2016) are much weaker installments. Chapter 2 currently holds a 38% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers taking issue with the sequel’s reliance on familiar scares and suggesting it doesn’t recapture the unsettling atmosphere of its predecessor. Rather than being viewed as a worthy continuation of the Lamberts’ story, it was largely treated as a conventional follow-up that expanded the Insidious world without delivering the same creeping dread and explosive jumpscares that fans loved in the original film.
Chapter 2′s 57% audience score, however, paints a bit of a different picture. The sequel was far from universally disliked, and the franchise has continued to attract fans who enjoy its supernatural horror and returning cast. Most recently, the franchise delivered its sixth movie, Insidious: Out of the Further, which received its theatrical release on August 21, 2026. Chapter 2′s current placement at #3 on AMC+’s Top 10 Movies chart can likely be chalked up to a combination of Out of the Further’s release and nostalgia.
Insidious: Chapter 2 Has Become Something of a Cult Favorite
Insidious: Chapter 2 has developed something of a cult following in recent years. The 2013 sequel is very much a product of peak 2010s studio horror, combining haunted-house scares, grotesque demons, melodrama, and increasingly strange supernatural mythology into one unapologetically pulpy package. It also remained closely tied to the Lambert family’s story, expanding almost immediately upon Josh’s connection to the Further, Parker Crane’s history, and the rules surrounding astral projection.
The movie has arguably benefited from everything that came after it, too. Chapter 3 and The Last Key shifted everything backward to focus on Elise Rainier and her cases, while later installments increasingly broadened the Insidious world past the Lambert family. That left Chapter 2 occupying a somewhat unusual place in the series: it’s one of the last early films to be completely invested in Josh, Renai, and Dalton’s original nightmare before the franchise shifted in different directions.
Even some of Chapter 2′s more bizarre creative choices have grown on fans. The film uses the Further as a way to move through time, allowing Josh to revisit moments from Insidious and literally recontextualize what came before. It’s a strange idea, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell deliberately used it to make the two movies feel connected to a larger story. Now, the same weirdness that reviewers criticized is part of Chapter 2’s appeal.
With the Insidious franchise having since produced legacy sequels, prequels, and more elaborate mythology, Chapter 2 can look less like a disappointing follow-up and more like the fun snapshot of early 2010s horror that it is. This new cult status, and Out of the Further‘s recent release putting the franchise back in the spotlight, has got AMC+ users revisiting Chapter 2.
- Release Date
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September 13, 2013
- Runtime
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106 minutes
- Director
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James Wan
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Patrick Wilson
Josh Lambert
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Ty Simpkins
Dalton Lambert
