Review of Insidious: The Last Key (2018) by John S — 07 Jan 2018

For me, the Insidious movies have always been fun which is certainly a rare thing to hear from me for PG-13 horror flicks. This particular franchise is an uncommon beast, and even with this fourth installment, it still retains its quality.

For those familiar with the franchise storyline, this film is all about Elise and is a direct prequel to the events of the first Insidious. The film introduces a satisfying amount of backstory for Elise, and the writing expertly interweaves her past and present in a coordinated style that is both smooth and never uninteresting.

Lin Shaye returns to the role and does a marvelous job with the character and all the emotional dynamics she endures. With a strong supporting cast, some well-placed corny humor, a balanced amount of jump scares, and a creatively creepy demon design, this is a good horror movie and a fulfilling experience.

On a further note, this film is similar to Insidious 3 in that, while the horror aspect is still quite omnipresent, it is supplemented with a significant human element which throws more emotion, drama, character development, etc.

into the mix. This is certainly not a bad thing, but it can slow the scare momentum. If this franchise is considering a fifth installment, it would be beneficial to up the horror ante and avoid the redundancy in seeing this human element at this extent for a third consecutive time.