Jacob Chase

Writer and Director of ‘Insidious’ Sequel on Fear and Why It Never Gets Easier

Jacob Chase made his first short film with friends and no money. Nine years later, he was handed the keys to one of horror’s biggest franchises. Jacob also directed Come Play, four episodes of Peacock’s The Girl in the Woods, and is now in prep for Sleepover with Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster.

And, while he's done a ton of great press for Insidious: Out of the Further, he hasn’t talked much about the decade before it, which is the part you know I love. The TV pilot that collapsed days before shooting, the student loan debt that shaped every creative choice he made in his twenties, the Doritos Super Bowl commercial that won him just enough money to breathe again.

In this conversation, Carolina and her pal, Jacob, go past the franchise talking points. We explore his experience going from a four-minute short film called Larry to a phone call from Amblin, his fear of repeating his own parents’ patterns while directing a film about generational trauma, and how becoming a father reshaped what scares him.

Jacob also tells the story of pitching Insidious the way he first told it to Carolina over brunch, before any of it was real.

Can’t wait to hear what you take away!

xx cg

“A movie is forever. So, you better fight to make it as good as you can while you're making it.”

- Jacob Chase

Episode Transcript