It gets easy to write off horror sequels, especially when it's the fourth time around. The Last Key, though, while certainly not the strongest installment of the Insidious franchise and perhaps its weakest link, is still a head and shoulders above some sequels in its vein. Directed by Adam Robitel (The Taking of Deborah Logan) and written by Leigh Whannell, this film gives the franchise some much-needed heart after the first one, now eight years ago. It also solidifies Lin Shaye as the real MVP of the series as she carries the full weight of the movie on her shoulders as if it were nothing.
The Last Key takes place, chronologically, between Chapter Three and the original Insidious. Elise Brenner (Shaye), having set up her paranormal investigation business with Specs and Tucker (Whannell and Angus Sampson again), gets called by a man living in what was her childhood home. Hesitant to go, she recalls her youth, being terrorized by her abusive father as well as a demon when she began to experiment with her gifts of astral projection and clairvoyance. In returning home, she must face her angry brother (Bruce Davison) as well as the demons haunting her in her mind and in the Further, the mysterious limbo between life and death.
I don't want to give too much away. This film is easily the most emotional of the series, and I'd argue it could be read simply as a psychological journey to Elise's heart of darkness. The ghosts of her family and her past are far more complex and engaging than I expected, and I teared up more than once. Lin Shaye carries the weight masterfully, emoting as if she were fighting for an Oscar, and carrying the movie like an action star. She has carved out a magnificent niche for herself and for older women in general in a genre that all but abuses such figures. It's an awesome thing to have witnessed.
But the film is also, despite its tonal inconsistencies, a pretty darn good scary movie. Its jump-scares are nowhere near as good as in Chapter Two, but I can't deny being totally engaged the whole time. It's anything but predictable, and even in its final moments (leading up arrestingly to the events of the first film) I was desperate for more. This flick, notably, takes away a lot of what made the franchise great to begin with: namely, the foggy ether of the Further, which is reserved until the final act, and the mythological weirdness of time and space fuckery. But what it provides, instead, is the heartstrings that connect us to these characters. This switcheroo makes this film feel separate from the others and more like a standalone generic horror movie, but I think when all are viewed together, this film will serve as a lynchpin for all four, a crux of heart and horror.
IMDb: Insidious: The Last Key
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