Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Lin Shaye
• Director: Adam Robitel
• Producers: Oren Peli, Jason Blum, James Wan
• Film Format: AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Audio Description: English
• Region: All Regions
• Rated: PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: April 3, 2018
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31,
• Run Time: 103 minutes

        Most horror franchises stay alive due to the return of the monster, with a few rare exceptions following the protagonist from the original narrative instead. Insidious: The Last Key continues its story by instead returning to one of the supporting characters from the first films, and while elements from the past films can still be found, it is clearly an example of diminishing returns. In fact, the only notable thing about Insidious: The Last Key is the fact that it may be the first example of a horror movie for the Me Too movement.

        While the first films followed the families being haunted, Insidious: The Last Key focuses entirely upon Dr. Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), the parapsychologist responsible for eliminating the entities that haunted the families in the first films. While this isn’t a prequel, it dives into Elise’s background, and the difficult childhood which started her complex relationship with the supernatural. Along with flashbacks of Elise’s troubled childhood in New Mexico, which was plagued by malicious spirits and an abusive father.

        When Elise is called back to her childhood home by the newest owner, she refuses at first, but inevitably takes the job with her two investigative partners, Specs and Tucker (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson). Along with providing the film with comedic relief, these two guys also offer Elise technical support, recording the paranormal activity. What none of them realize is how personal this specific case is for Elise, forcing her to face demons from her childhood when it turns out that the same spirits remain.

        As well as being a horror movie, there is a mystery behind this specific paranormal activity. Elise realizes that the key to this mystery is an actual key, hiding secrets within the house that have been hidden since her childhood. As the trauma hidden by the house is revealed, it exposes a series of female victims, making the latest Insidious film one of the most socially relevant installment of the franchise. It is also the least frightening and feels like the most inconsequential in nearly every other way.

        The Blu-ray release of Insidious: The Last Key includes a handful of special features, on top of including a digital copy of the film. There are several featurettes which examine Lin Shaye’s performance as Elise, the continuation of the Insidious franchise, and one about the new demon created for this film. The remainder of the extras is additional footage. There is an alternate ending, along with eight additional deleted scenes.

Entertainment Value: 6.5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 6/10

Historical Significance:  4.5/10

Special Features: 7/10