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Insidious: The Last Key

Romessa Nadeem
Jan 8, 2018
3 min read

Rating 6/10

Directed by Adam Robitel

Starring

Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier

Angus Sampson as Tucker

Leigh Whannell as Specs

Insidious: The Last Key is the fourth film in the Insidious franchise which is testament to how disappointing and terrible it should be. January horror movies are rarely good (remember The Bye Bye Man? I wish I didn’t) but the fourth installment is almost bound to be awful. The Insidious films have gone incrementally downhill but The Last Key is hardly on the level of Jaws: The Revenge.

It tells the story of Elise Rainier, the paranormal specialist from the previous three films. It opens with her traumatic childhood spent living in a house in New Mexico, where her mother was eventually murdered and her father (who might have been possessed) would abuse both her and her brother. That’s heavy stuff, especially for an Insidious movie.

Years later, the person living in Elise’s childhood home contacts her and tells her what she’s probably sick and tired of hearing; “this house is haunted!” Instead of telling him to just move out because that’s what a normal person would do, she decides to head out there and face the demons she had tried so hard to leave behind.

Lin Shae is at the center of The Last Key and she deserves to be. Helmed by a seventy four year old woman, it’s refreshing to see the fourth installment in a franchise value talent over young age. The haunted upbringing element plays a huge part in the way this movie unfolds and it’s surprisingly very effective; more effective than the scares, I dare say.

The build up to the scares is done well; there are some scenes when you think someone will go “boo” but nothing happens. The sound design works so well; creaky floorboards, door knobs rattling all go a long way in adding to the horror. But there are plenty of jump scares (as can be expected from any Insidious movie) They’re not exactly lazy but they’re not new or fresh. They look like they’re there because it’s a horror movie and, well, where else would they be?

Another element that worked so well in some movies like The Conjuring is the comicality. They try to incorporate Wan’s same sense of humor and well… let’s just say they try very hard. Yet it’s just distracting because of how cringe worthy it is. The misguided sense of comedy isn’t the only structural issue with The Last Key. Often it’s ridiculous just how off the pacing and transitions can be.

Despite a smooth and, frankly, amazing first act thanks to the effective opening, the transition between the second and third act feels clumpy. The big reveal of the demon which The Last Key builds up isn’t too big or special. We’ve seen it done before and better.

This is, if not scary, a competently made horror film. It’s the fourth installment in a horror franchise released in January and for what it is, could easily have been a whole lot worse but the strong opening, Shae’s performance and tie in to the previous Insidious films gives it quite a bit of leverage.

If you liked The Last Key, check out The Taking of Deborah Logan, a film by the same director about a case of Alzheimer’s that eventually takes a supernatural turn.