Bad news for fans of the Insidious franchise; the next installment has been bumped from its cushy October release date to next year, taking the place of a previously announced Untitled Blumhouse Horror Project. Universal has filled that October 20, 2017 release slot with Blumhouse’s Half to Death instead.

January is typically a dumping ground for films, so in any other scenario this wouldn’t bode well for the next installment of the popular Insidious films. However, it seems as though it’s nothing more than Blumhouse rearranging to accommodate for their upcoming projects. Perhaps that Untitled Project wouldn’t have been ready by its scheduled release date?  Besides, Blumhouse already has a proven track record with this year’s January release of Split earning over $100 million in domestic grosses on a $9 million production budget within a few weeks of its theatrical release.

Moving a tried-and-true franchise into January, a typically abysmal month for box office numbers, is a smart choice. With the next chapter having been penned by co-creator Leigh Whannell, produced by Jason Blum, James Wan, and Oren Peli, and directed by Adam Robitel (The Taking of Deborah Logan), Insidious: Chapter 4 seems like a lock for a rare January hit.

As for what Blumhouse horror film we can now expect this Halloween season, writer/director Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) looks to take a Groundhog Day time loop concept and apply a slasher/horror coating.  La La Land’s Jessica Rothe plays the college student forced to relieve her murder until her killer is revealed.

Insidious: Chapter 4 will now arrive in theaters on January 5, 2018, and Half to Death has slashed its way into the former’s slot on October 20, 2017.

Insidious: Chapter 4
In the supernatural thriller, which welcomes back franchise standout Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home.

Half to Death
An original and inventive rewinding thriller in HALF TO DEATH, in which a college student (Jessica Rothe, La La Land) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity.