Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

As if Insidious: Chapter 3 wasn't awful and pointless enough, a clear sign that writer Leigh Whennell had run out of ideas, here it comes Insidious: The Last Key, the ultimate proof that Whennell has run out of ideas. 

Set after Chapter 3 and right before the first Insidious, the film mainly revolves around psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye). She is having nightmares with her childhood in New Mexico, where she lived with her small brother Christian (Pierce Pope), her supportive mother, Audrey (Tessa Ferrer), and her abusive father, Gerald (Josh Stewart), who used to hit her every time she claimed she had seen a ghost in the house. It's not long before she gets a call from Ted Garza (Kirk Acevedo), the man who is now living in her childhood house, and asks Elise for help as he believes there are supernatural forces lurking in the house. Reluctant at first, Elise accepts to help Garza and travels to her old house with her assistants, Specs (Leigh Whennell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson).

At this point, I think it comes without saying that the plot is a mess. It somehow manages to be even more convoluted than it was in the previous instalments, it makes no sense whatsoever and therefore the several twists and turns Whennell tries to pull off are confusing and lack any logic. The problem here though is that Whennell tries too hard to add elements that would connect all the films of the franchise together. If only he had just stuck to telling Elise's story, about her childhood and origins, if properly executed --which is a huge if when it comes to this franchise and horrors in general--, it would have been such an interesting and gripping story.

As for the characters, they did something good here. Although I often found Lin Shaye's performance as Elise to be too overdramatic, Elise has always been a solid character, probably the best in the Insidious series. Thankfully, she keeps getting stronger with Insidious: The Last Key. First, it's refreshing for a horror to focus on an old lady instead of the typical hot chick who often happens to be blonde and dumb. Second, the character is nicely developed, her background story is compelling and you'll end up caring and rooting for her. Most of the credits I guess goes to Shaye who yet again gives a strong performance. Her calm presence is a true joy and she proves to be more than capable of carrying the film on her shoulders.

The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the rest of the characters and cast. The first barely has a characterization and absolutely nothing resembling development; the latter isn't terrible but isn't that good either.

Universal Pictures

The direction, third change in four movies, is now in the hands of Adam Robitel whose previous works include Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Do I need to say more? Seriously, this guy can't even make the film even --while the first part is slightly scary with your typical horror movie scare jumps, the second part is so flat it wouldn't even scare a child. As for the atmosphere and tension, there's basically none. Sure, you can blame the characters for it as we know from previous films nothing bad will happen to them, but it's definitely Robitel and Whennell's fault if the film has so much comedy which feels forced and never works. This comedy completely ruins the tone of the film and any chance it could succeed as a horror movie.