Insidious: The Last Key (2018) Movie Review
Written By: JASR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Adam Robitel
Producers: Jason Blum, Oren Peli, et. al.
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Date Released: January 5, 2018
Cast:
Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier
Ava Kolker as Little Elise Rainier
Hana Hayes as Teenage Elise Rainier
Angus Sampson as Tucker
Leigh Whannell as Specs
Spencer Locke as Melissa Rainier
Caitlin Gerard as Imogen Rainier
Bruce Davison as Christian Rainier
et. al.
Rating = 2.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) opens with Elise Rainier’s childhood in 1953. Elise has always been able to interact with spirits, but her father did not support it. One day in 2010, before the events of Insidious (2010), Elise receives a call from Ted Garza (Kirk Acevedo), asking Elise for help because he has been experiencing paranormal occurrences at his house. Elise is surprised to learn that Ted lives in the house that she grew up in. Despite refusing at first, Elise heads back to her childhood home to help Ted. Elise and her team, Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson), must fight the evil that has been terrorizing the house for years.
Gore Factor
If you’re looking for a massive amount of blood, don’t expect this movie to give it to you. Insidious: The Last Key does not show intense and disgusting gore. However, it has a reasonable amount of action that, depending on one’s sensitivity, may or may not have you on the edge of your seat. The movie may not exactly be gory, but KeyFace does something eerily disturbing to one of the characters.
The Grave Review
Just like many final installments, Insidious: The Last Key (2018) is not a necessary addition to the franchise. However, it was nice to take a glimpse at Elise’s childhood – especially how her family reacted to her gift. We hear the aged Elise explain why she spends her life doing what she does – and it has something to do with what happened to her mother years ago. This is a notable justification for why Elise does her job so passionately – and it makes perfect sense because the reason involves family. The story, as a whole, is nothing special but telling the backstory of a main character in other popular installments is sometimes interesting to hear about.
Characters who decide to explore an already terrifying situation are usually the laughingstock of horror movies. Luckily for young Elise, her attitude of exploring and trying to communicate with spirits perfectly fits her personality and future profession. Elise, played by Lin Shaye, does a good job at creating the “Ghost Hunter” type vibe. Another enjoyable aspect of the characters in this film is how Tucker and Specs never fail to show how much they care about Elise. In this movie, they insist on coming with her to her old house even though she initially said she needs to do it alone. The team of Elise, Tucker, and Specs – not to mention the chemistry among Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, and Leigh Whannell – is always a pleasure and heartwarming to see. Tucker and Specs are also a great comic relief, and I love how their humor was not too forced into the script.
I must acknowledge how well they chose Kirk Acevedo as Ted Garza. His look, voice, and overall vibe are perfect for the character – especially for something that viewers will learn in one part of the movie. I don’t have any major complaints about the actors who portrayed Melissa (Spencer Locke) and Imogen (Caitlin Gerard), however, it’s not very believable that they’re sisters. Then again, I might just be nitpicking.
When Elise and her team visit the old house, we hear the television say something about history always repeating. This is a subtle hint about how the past and present occurrences in the house are quite similar. Speaking of hints, one scene in The Further shows a little glimpse of Dalton Lambert from the first movie. I always love subtle acknowledgments like that – especially those that are most likely understood only by those who have seen previous movies.
I didn’t quite enjoy how many parts of the movie consist of slow walking and exploring. The director might have intended to make those scenes suspenseful, but they just ended up being boring to me. This movie also relies too much on jump scares – a sad downturn from the creepy entities in the first two films.
As always, Lin Shaye stole the show – but I feel like we saw more of her potential in the first two films. While I would advise those who have seen the first three films to give this last film a shot, I stand firm with my belief that the first two movies are the only necessary ones.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Insidious: The Last Key (2018) two and a half graves out of five graves.
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