Dustin Staggs

NWA Democrat-Gazette

“Insidious: The Further You Fear,” a unique live immersive horror experience, brings the paranormal world of the films to the stage, promising 80 minutes of fear without intermission.

Produced by Blumhouse Productions, the studio behind the “Insidious” film franchise, and Spymonkey, U.K.’s leading physical comedy ensemble known for dark, edgy physical stories, brings famous characters like the Bride in Black, the Wheezing Man and the Lipstick-Face Demon to life in a way that hasn’t been seen … or felt.

“I think the really exciting aspect to the show is that it isn’t just an adaptation of the first movie,” explained writer Carl Grose, a self-confessed horror fanatic. “It’s a brand new story we’ve created that exists and honors the ‘Insidious’ universe. Also, it isn’t a play. It’s a ‘live event’ with Specs and Tucker on their quest for the paranormal. Until it all goes wrong. The audience is very much a character in the story. The fourth wall does not exist in this show.”

“Insidious: The Further You Fear,” directed by Toby Park and Aitor Basauri of the company Spymonkey, strikes a combination of dread and dark humor. Park argues that “horror and comedy are points on the same continuum.” Both are about building and releasing tension, he said.

“You have to bring the audience to you, to know how you want them to respond to a scene, which characters they care about, how to let suspense run and run so that you can relieve it, and in that moment of relieving it, you pull the rug from under their feet and shock them,” Park said.

According to the production’s website, the plot revolves around paranormal investigators Specs and Tucker from the film franchise, this time played by comedian Jeff Seal and actor Michael J. Sielaff, whose quest to investigate the supernatural transports the viewers into “The Further,” the terrifying otherworld integral to the movies. As the theater itself becomes haunted, the audience must face the horrors alongside them.

Knowing that Grose was a huge horror fan and a fan of “Insidious,” Park and Basauri asked him if he was interested in writing this production. Grose is also an actor, and he’s written several shows for Spymonkey. He said their shows always include the audience and often blow the roofs off theaters. The combination of working with them again and getting to play around in the “Insidious” sandbox was an offer too good to refuse.

Grose considers himself a frustrated horror filmmaker/novelist who tries to put as much of the genre into his writing as he can. He said making a terrifying piece of theatre is really hard. You don’t have the close-ups, the crash zoom, or the creeping Steadicam shot. The audience can look wherever they want, he said.

“However, I’ve always thought that theatre’s power is in its ideas and its atmosphere,” Grose said. “We play around with that. Planting disconcerting ideas like, ‘Actually, who the h*ll is this person sitting next to me?’”

Sound, lighting and practical effects are said to bring these famous demons and the unknown to life, elevating live theatre to what Grose describes as a “ghost-train thrill-ride.”

With this production, there are jump scares for the horror fans who want their heart rate above 130 BPM; Easter eggs for fans of the movies; and an immersive experience with an original score for those with a love for theatre’s continuous possibilities.

“We’ve got some brilliant, terrifying, jaw-dropping things in store for the audience, but I don’t want to give anything away,” Park said. “You’re just going to have to come and enter ‘The Further’ to see it.”

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FAQ

“Insidious: The Further You Fear”

WHEN — 8 p.m. Jan. 18

WHERE — Baum Walker Hall at Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville

COST — Tickets are $50-$62

INFO — insidious-live.com