Insidious: The Last Key

Starring: Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Kirk Acevedo, Caitlin Gerard, Spencer Locke, Josh Stewart, Tessa Ferrer, Bruce Davison
Directed by: Adam Robitel
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Elise (Lin Shaye) must return to her childhood home to investigate a strange haunting.

Review:

Tim:
I've been a fan of the Insidious franchise. It's always flirted the line between decent and good, but that's a much better place than many horror franchises we've had over the decades. The fourth film, Insidious: The Last Key abandons the numerical titles, but it follows the pattern (unfortunately) by dipping below the "good" mark. Still, a decent horror movie is nothing to complain about. While I wish the film was better, I still had fun watching it.

The franchise is now firmly in the hands of Lin Shaye, which isn't a bad thing at all. This is another prequel film (which is expected, as Shaye's character died in one of the previous movies). The story does a good job of further exploring the character of Elise Rainier, while taking a circular path to connect with the original film. It was a worthwhile journey to venture on- to learn more about the franchise's most interesting character, while learning what took place right before the events of the first movie. I tend to be less enthusiastic about horror movie prequels, but given the unique characteristics of this franchise, it worked effectively here.

It's always great seeing Shaye in this role. It suits her so well and you can tell she's comfortable playing it now. It's really a shame she was killed in the second film, because I'd have loved to see more of these movies. There's always a way, I'm sure, but it would likely stretch our credulity. I feel fortunate we got two prequels, though. She works well with Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson. These two provide some needed levity. While their performance here occasionally felt forced, they're harmless and they add to the movie. I loved seeing Kirk Acevedo here (I've been a fan since "Fringe") and he adds a nice supporting turn. It was also good seeing Bruce Davison. I can't say I was overly impressed with Caitlin Gerard and Spencer Locke. The film hints that they could be the direction the franchise goes in. That could work, but I'd hope to see better performances out of them.

The movie was decently frightening, but it doesn't quite compare to the previous movies. I liked the visual of the keys emerging from the fingers. Key Face felt a little generic, but was creepy enough to hold our attention. The story was fairly interesting- to see Elise return to her childhood home, where her abilities and her nightmare started. The movie does a good job of creating some big questions that you want answered. The mystery element of this film was stronger than in some previous films. It's always fun to see characters venture into The Further. That aspect was slightly less effective than in previous movies. Still, it does create some tense moments.

Now, this film didn't get the greatest reviews of critics. I agree that it doesn't hold up as well as the better films in the franchise. However, Elise Rainier is such a great character that I was able to forgive some (but certainly not all) of the film's flaws to get more time with her. It's interesting that the franchise has been going back-and-forth between good and decent. The first movie was good, the second decent, the third flipped back up to good, and this movie drops back down to decent. Still, a decent horror movie is absolutely not a certainty. I've had a fun time with the franchise and although there are indicators that it might drop down in quality if it continues, I still had a decent time with the fourth film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Insidious, Insidious: Chapter 2, Insidious: Chapter 3