Insidious: L'ultima chiave

I never look things up, or remember anything from the previous films apart from the fact that I liked them, so I didn't realize it was a prequel till the end. It's set in 2010, but it's been a while since I saw the first 3 Insidious movies so I just thought more time had passed than I thought.

I think this one's less spooky than the other Insidious movies, and the two dudes were pretty annoying. Some things make a lot more sense if they were meant to be 10 years younger than the actors actually are.

I did enjoy the story, but now that I see Insidious 5 is en route, it is very clear that this is set up for that.

I must say the first 2 were gold that's for sure and others had pretty good elements mashed in well. An interesting view on Elises's backstory furthering showing how good of an actress Lin Shaye is she carries everything quite well! The acting and writing is much more bearable in The Last Key compared to Chapter 3 I'm grateful for that, unfortunate this one has the lowest ratings to me its a satisfying sequel to the series of Insidious. The voices are great, the thrill is well done, more seriousness than previous one was lacking this one does well, and the directing is great; sure the humor is one of the most added aspects I like it and glad to be caught on these thrill rides.

This movie focuses on Elise's character and that is undeniably the best part of the film. The scary scenes feel too similar to what we have seen in the previous installments but overall, it was enjoyable.

In 1953, Elise Rainier lives with her loving mother, her abusive prison guard father, and her young brother Christian next to the prison. Her father beats her for claiming to see the dead and locks her in the basement. She unlocks a forbidding red door allowing a demon to escape and getting her mother killed. In 2010 California, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) fights paranormal demons with Specs and Tucker. She gets a call for help from Ted Garza who lives in her childhood home in New Mexico. She reluctantly goes home and finds her estranged angry brother Christian (Bruce Davison) with two daughters Imogen (Caitlin Gerard) and Melissa (Spencer Locke).

There are some issues with clarity. This starts with the flashback to her childhood home. In retrospect, it doesn't make sense that her father would lock her in the basement so that she could easily find the secret entrance to the dungeon. The house layout is never that clear with a question of how the kids wouldn't figure things out sooner over the many years. The same can be said about Garza. Why would he call Elise for help unless he wants to be discovered? Is it self-sabotage? There is a great reveal but it needs to be the central take. It's all a bit messy. As for the characters, I like Elise but not the boys especially Tucker. The girls are fine. I do like The Further but I don't get why Imogen has to throw the whistle to Elise. Couldn't Imogen blow it herself? It's a lot of nagging little questions. In the end, I like it more than I have problems.

The Last Key is filled with recycled ideas and imagery from the previous Insidious films. Characters will make decisions in one scene, only to inexplicably decide the exact opposite in the following scene. Most of the suspenseful scenes feel ripped straight from the previous entries in the franchise (or from other similar series like the Conjuring or Ouija). Worst of all, The Last Key seems to feel the need to remind of you of the other Insidious films and previous scenes with needless flashbacks and reincorporation. The humor is often misplaced, pacing is disjointed, but at least the score will be sure to remind you of when you're supposed to be scared.

Despite some cool looking sets, there is little to enjoy in this film. The Last Key is a bland entry in a tired series.