Review of Insidious: The Last Key (2018) by Brucegifford J — 26 Nov 2018

I'm a fan of the Insidious movies, and while there have been things in the sequels I didn't like, I've still found the Insidious movies to be enjoyable, good horror films. I was worried when it was announced that the newest prequel would be released in January. Movies getting pushed to January release dates are a telltale sign of studios not being confident about the film. Unless the movie is an Oscar contender with a limited release in December but a wide release in January, January movies are often a crapfest, especially horror films. Insidious: The Last Key is one of the rare occasions when a January horror film is actually good! (It does happen sometimes.) I've seen Insidious: The Last Key five times now, in the course of this year, and each time I've found it to be a solid, really good horror movie. Hell, it might even be my second favorite Insidious movie, right behind the first film of course.

Insidious: The Last Key is another prequel to the franchise and the bridge between Insidious Chapter 3 and Insidious. In fact, certain things that happen at the end of the film lead up to the beginning of Insidious. Elise, still played fantastically by Lin Shaye, is still are lead character like in Insidious Chapter 3. Naturally, the film delves deeper into Elise's past since the haunted house they investigate in the film is her childhood home. Elise is an interesting character which is why I like learning more about her in these prequels. Some of her past is quite clichéd such as her having an abusive father, who fears her supernatural gifts, but I feel it fits the story of the film well enough and there are some twists towards the end that could make those clichéd moments a little more complex. If you take away some of the back story and the Further third-act that has become a staple of the franchise, one could see the film as just a typical haunted house movie. So, I can see other Insidious fans finding it not unique enough for the franchise. I did like how this one felt more like a mystery in the middle of the film and I liked that they added more of the ghost hunting elements in this one. After all, I did watch Ghost Hunters and the middle of the movie reminded me of that, a little.

Of course I enjoyed the returning characters of Elise, Specs (Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson). I thought they all had a good performance, but I did like Lin Shaye's performance a little more in Insidious Chapter 3. While some of the humor between Specs and Tucker are good, I did find some of the humor cringe-worthy the first time I saw it, especially the humor revolving around them hitting on younger women. That humor didn't bother me as much after multiple viewings, but it did when I watched it in theaters back in January. The new cast of characters in this film wasn't as interesting and felt slapped on and an excuse for the movie to have a third act in the Further. The performances of the actors and actresses playing the new characters were okay with a few minor bad deliveries or awkward acting, sometimes. The only new person I felt had a good enough performance to match our recurring characters was Kirk Acevedo who plays Ted Garza in the film. Ted Garza is the owner of the house when Elise and the team go to investigate. I felt Kirk Acevedo played him very well.

I found the demon's design and motives to be the creepiest thing in the movie. However, I can see people being disappointed and finding the demon to be not that memorable. The reason is the demon is a monster that's in the background for more of the film. Towards the end you discover that the demon is orchestrating all the bad things that happen in the film and is more or a puppet master sort of villain, but it does give the demon less of a presence in the overall film.

What I'm impressed by the most in Insidious: The Last Key, it the more technical aspects. I love the cinematography, the visual effects, and the editing in the movie. The design of the demon is creepy and grotesque and seeing his key finger poking into a girl's throat and turning off her voice still makes me clutch my neck. I love how long and suspenseful a lot of the scenes play out. The scenes in which Elise investigates in the dark in very quiet atmosphere add a lot more suspense and creep factor than a lot of modern day horror films, but I can see how some might feel the scenes drag on a little too long.

There are quite a few jump scares in the movie. If you're someone who finds jump scares to be ruining modern horror, then you will find these jump scares annoying. I do detest jump scares, but I still firmly believe not all jump scares are bad and they can be effective in the right scenarios. What really gets on my nerve is when the jump scare is accompanied by sharp music constantly, when the jump scare isn't even of the monster or thing we should be scared of (like a bird or cat jumping out), and when the movie relies solely on jump scares and nothing else. Those most of the jump scares in this movie is accompanied by sudden music that isn't in the world of the film, I am not annoyed by the jump scares in this movie. I found they were used sparingly enough and used like more of the jump scares are used in the Insidious franchise. Sometimes, the movie builds up to a jump scare only for a jump scare not to even occur. There was one particular jump scare I found to be very effective and choreographed well (it is the one that involves suitcases).

The only things I can truly say I disliked about the film is some of the dialogue, some bad or awkward acting moments, and I didn't like how they tried to tie everything up by having this one lead into the first film they way they did. Other than that, I found it to be a really solid horror movie I enjoyed. I can understand if some might find it to be dull and slow, but I found it suspenseful.