Film of the Week: Insidious: The Last Key

Warning: Contains spoilers.

The fourth instalment and possibly the last story in the Insidious series surprisingly doesn’t dip in quality. All four films have maintained a strong, original story that builds upon the last. I can completely forgive them for not releasing the story in chronological order, because when you get around to watching the first one again, Elise’s character already has so many layers. If you were, you have to watch 3, and 4 before 1 and 2.

During this film, we learn more about the life of the psychic Eliese Rainier (Lin Shaye). From when she was growing up to now. This does have a few darker moments compared to the previous three, but are within context of the story; it’s not dark for the sake of being dark.

Unlike plenty of series that extends to four films, each one is strong in its own way, enabling all four to be entertaining, terrifying, and not least bit predictable. With this film using its original elements in conjunction with those we’re familiar with before, it’s able to show us a totally unique experience, along with a good twist. The previous films are purely focused on paranormal activity, but The Last Key adds an unexpected element in – living people. What was previously perceived as ghosts were actually people who were trapped in the family home. So many years down the line, Elise was able to use her gift of communicating with the dead to put those who suffered to rest and rescue those the demon took.

Whilst it’s understandable to believe that Insidious is scrapping the bottom of the barrel by reducing the amount of paranormal activity, I say it helps. It has the same atmosphere, it has plenty of good camera angles, it has some brilliant jump scares, with that newly introduced element, it does feel original instead of a rehash of what’s already been done, or we’re just watching it slowly worsen with each instalment.

One particular element that is consistently strong throughout all four films – most notably in the second – is the continuity. How the writers and directors were able to interweave all four films the way they have, with little snippets here and there to once again build upon the last or, in this case, the next part of Elise’s story, the overall effect fleshes out each film so much more, given them multiple layers, revealing twists and turns, shocks and surprises all at the same time as keeping you on the edge of your seat, and occasionally, making you fall of the seat due to an exceptional jump scare.

My favourite jump scare in the entire franchise was during Insidious 2, where the woman in the white dress teases the mother and appears suddenly behind her in the living room. That literally made me jump off my seat in the cinema. I’m surprised no one noticed, but then again they all were engrossed in the film to care, and picking themselves up off the floor in the process.

The horror genre is inundated with terrible movies. You have to wade through half a dozen before you find a gem, and Insidious is definitely one of those precious films you can watch and watch repeatedly and still be entertained. To make an entire franchise as good as the last is rarer still, and shows off the talent of everyone involved. Also, with the jump scares, they are so well done, that even though you know they’re coming, they can still catch you off guard.

I don’t just highly recommend the first film; I highly recommend all four films. You can, if you want, watch them in the order they were released or in the order the story was built in. It’s totally up to you, because nothing will be lost in the processed.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)