1984
A Nightmare on Elm Street
An early horror credit in a career spanning several genres.
FLM.REDLIN
SHAYE
ลิน เชย์
A familiar face in comedy and the unknown
From character roles to Elise Rainier in Insidious.
The humanity behind the haunting
Lin Shaye is an American actor whose long career includes comedy and horror. Before becoming closely associated with the Insidious series, she appeared in films including A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin.
In Insidious she plays Elise Rainier, a psychic who helps families confront forces they cannot see. Her calm presence gives the frightening world of the series a person the other characters can turn to.
Insidious: The Last Key moves Elise to the centre of the story as she returns to investigate a haunting in her childhood home. Shaye revisits the character again in Insidious: Out of the Further.
Her range also includes comic character work; in interviews she has spoken of her collaborations with the Farrelly brothers. The films listed below are those currently in the FLM.RED database, not a complete filmography.
A career across genres
1996
Kingpin
One of her comedy collaborations with the Farrelly brothers.
2010
Insidious
Shaye introduces psychic Elise Rainier.
2018
Insidious: The Last Key
Elise returns to her childhood home as the story turns toward her past.
Performance readings are FLM.RED editorial interpretation.
Films in FLM.RED
Titles in this collection; not a complete filmography.
Sources & image notes
- Rue Morgue — interview with Lin Shaye
- Sony Pictures — Insidious: The Last Key
- Sony Pictures — Insidious: Out of the Further
- IMDb — Lin Shaye
Portrait illustration: FLM.RED.