INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

insidious: the last key (2018) movie

Genre              |   Horror Thriller

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   103 minutes

Released         |   18 January 2018

cast

Lin Shaye ... Elise Rainier
​Angus Sampson ... Tucker
Leigh Whannell ... Specs

director

​Adam Robitel

writer

​Leigh Whannell ... (based on characters created by)
Leigh Whannell ... (written by)

cinematographer

​Toby Oliver

music

Joseph Bishara

film editor

​Timothy Alverson

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box office result

Worldwide             $​161,996,737  

Australia                 $​1,259,389

North America       $67,217,475 

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the best dialogue

​Elise Rainier: I'm going to get the attention of all the spirits in this house. I need things that were important to Garza. Specs, go upstairs. There is a bible he held very dear to him. It was a red, King James version; I need you to find it. Take Imogen with you.
Specs: Okay.
Elise Rainier: And do not let her out of your sight.
Specs: I won't.
[Specs and Imogen head upstairs]
Elise Rainier: Tucker and I are going down to the fallout shelter.
Tucker: What- I get the death chamber and he gets bible camp with the most beautiful girl on earth? That's not a democracy.
Elise Rainier: You're the only one I trust to go down there with me.
Tucker: [under his breath as he follows Elise] Don't patronize me woman.

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INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

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INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

​​The creative minds behind the hit Insidious trilogy return for Insidious: The Last Key.  In the supernatural thriller, which welcomes back franchise standout Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home. 
 
The film is written by co-creator Leigh Whannell (Saw), who wrote the trilogy and directed Chapter 3; produced by Insidious regulars Jason Blum (The Purge series, Get Out), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) and co-creator James Wan (The Conjuring,  Furious 7); and directed by series newcomer Adam Robitel (The Taking of Deborah Logan). 

INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 10 February 2018
Pop ​Movee Rating ⭐⭐½

​Initially, despite every fibre of being wanting to succumb to the thought that this was not going to be a great viewing experience, INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY actually ends up being not a bad fourth outing for a franchise that has always been pretty one-note as far as its “Horror” tropes go… THE LAST KEY isn’t a great movie by any stretch, but Director Adam Robitel knows enough the let series leads Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell do their “thing”. The movie benefits from Whannell’s involvement behind the scenes as well; the Australian having written THE LAST KEY, along with all the three previous INSIDIOUS entries. The film also benefits from its association with Blumhouse Productions, as its ambition never exceeds what it can afford to put up on the screen. The obvious budget limitation forces all elements of the production to be inventive and stretch available resource to breaking point, but the result is a movie that is wears its Gothic pretensions proudly, even if those pretensions are a little on the worn side.

This may sound ridiculous in the context of a Horror film, but the opening of THE LAST KEY is extremely “dark”. It’s not so much the ghosts and demons that are the issue, it’s Whannell and Robitel’s up close and personal brush with genuine child abuse that is the most disturbing aspect of the film’s extended prologue. Events go all the way back to 1953, the story opens with a young Elise Rainier (Ava Kolker), whose gift of communing with the “other side” has brought unwanted attention from her domineering, abusive father (Josh Stewart); a guard at the next door prison. Elise’s father physically abuses her, by way of some old-fashioned corporal punishment, in an effort to have Elise, for want of a better description, recant the stories of what she has encountered. To add to the child’s misery, her father throws her into the basement, where the viewer knows she’s bound to encounter all sorts of evil. Suffice to say, no good comes of any of her father’s punishment and the entire Rainer family pay a terrible price. It’s at this point in the film that many may wish to get up and leave the cinema. This reaction is understandable. The child abuse on display in these opening scenes is both graphic and traumatic. The positive element, if it can be called that, of these opening scenes is wrapped up in viewer’s awareness of the INSIDIOUS franchise and that Lin Shaye’s older Elise Rainier is a woman of conviction and is as mentally strong as anyone walking the face of the Earth!

Leigh Whannell, who also plays series stalwart Specs, has been the “Keeper” of the INSIDIOUS franchise and his familiarity with co-stars Lin Shaye and Angus Sampson allow him to write material for them that they can deliver comfortably; both being solid, as opposed to excellent, actors. Whannell also knows his Horror. While the INSIDIOUS movies don’t always deliver top production values, Whannell’s story construction is guaranteed to delve into the mythology of the Horror genre. THE LAST KEY is no different. In this installment, the bulk of the action utilizes the Gothic Haunted House; a setting renowned for the presence of evil, for suffering and a gateway to another plane of existence. THE LAST KEY uses all of these to bring the viewer into the story and, in some cases, Robitel’s direction and shots of Cinematographer Toby Oliver are more disturbing than what might be expected from a B-grade Horror movie. Whannell’s story also takes the viewer for another trip on the paranormal “Wildside”, this time into the domain of Key Face, the film’s demon, played by Javier Botet. Again, the nod to the traditions of Horror are an important part the demon’s plan. One by one, various characters are lured into the basement of the old Rainier house, their journey representing an obvious descent into madness and confrontation with evil. What the various family members uncover is genuinely unsettling. There are revelations; some of which have nothing to do with the paranormal and follow in the footsteps of the “torture porn” concept that has, more and more, become a part of the modern Horror movie. 

What is disturbing about the “revelations” of THE LAST KEY is the excuse “the Demon made me do it”. In the current climate of people having to accept responsibility for their indulgent transgressions, it seems unacceptable that manipulation by a being from another dimension is good enough to explain why events unfold the way they do, especially when it comes to male characters explaining away their violent actions against women and children. Horror movie makers are going to have to pay close attention to the winds of change sweeping through their industry, as it’s conceivable, in this new era of “Statement is Fact”, that a performer may retrospectively decide what happened on the set of a film went beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour. It’s a cautionary note for a film genre that has always been the target for its fair share of moral crusaders. Movie industry followers only need to reference the hysteria whipped up by VARIETY in recent days about the car accident Uma Thurman had while making the KILL BILL films. Quentin Tarantino, who has never been a “Media Darling”, was targeted by VARIETY claiming all sorts of retrospective crimes against Thurman; an actress with whom he has had a long association. Fortunately, Thurman has publicly stated Tarantino was the one who actually gave her the footage of the accident because of the guilt he’s had about what happened. It’s an example of retrospective reaction, where time passage of time reshapes opinion and how a work of fiction like THE LAST KEY might become the victim of its own endeavour because its authorship requires those involved to plumb their own depths of despair to deliver an authentic product.

Those familiar with the INSIDIOUS franchise understand what they’re going to see and THE LAST KEY doesn’t disappoint. Co-stars Whannell and fellow Australian Angus Sampson are in good form as Elise Rainier’s support team. Sampson gets some cracking one-liners and their presence maintains their role as the “relief” to the tension. Veteran character actor Bruce Davison makes an appearance as Elise’s younger brother Christian; his presence lifting the quality of the performances around him and providing a new, “emotional” presence for Shaye to bounce off and add a layer of depth to her character that hasn’t been present to this point in the series. Caitlin Gerard and Spence Locke, as sisters Imogen & Melissa Rainier, also add a new dimension to the series. Gerard’s Imogen is of particular importance, as she represents a new option for the franchise to explore either with the current line-up of characters or out on her own. INSIDIOUS: THE NEXT GENERATION may be a way off, but THE LAST KEY certainly shouldn’t be the last movie in this franchise. The development of the existing characters and the introduction of new ones has put enough gas in the tank to get Elise Rainier to her next stop on the “Demon Drubbing” Express!

INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018) USEFUL LINKS

​Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - IMDb
​Insidious: The Last Key - Wikipedia
​Insidious: The Last Key (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes

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