Insidious is a 2010 supernatural horror film directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. It is the first installment in the Insidious franchise, and the third in terms of the series' in-story chronology. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral dimension who want to inhabit his body. The film was released in theaters on April 1, 2011, and was FilmDistrict's first theatrical release. The film is followed by a sequel, Chapter 2 (2013) and two prequels, Chapter 3 (2015) and The Last Key (2018).