Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 2, 2018

One can only hope that the word "last" appearing in the title actually refers to the "last" movie in the Insidious series, which has become something of a mainstay in the Horror genre. Built more around atmosphere than gore, more around characters than chills, the films have not exactly evolved over time, but neither have they significantly devolved. They have instead become the hamster wheel of the movie world, feverishly spinning around the same place but never really accomplishing anything or going anywhere. They follow the same formula of paranormal investigation and travel into another realm by the third act. The series started well and felt enjoyably unique and stylish, declined with the second, and scratched and clawed its way back to respectability with the third. Insidious: The Last Key sees the series drop again, though as with the second film it's more a steady, gentle decline than it is a plummet. The Last Key's biggest offense is its inability to do anything different, though the focus is, admittedly, not so much on the paranormal but rather its protagonist Elise, exploring her youth and returning her to her roots, allowing the audience to witness what it is that made her into the franchise's main character.

Bad memories.

Medium Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) receives a call from a man named Ted Garza (Kirk Acevedo), who pleads that she come to his New Mexico home to rid it of a demon. Elise, however, refuses his request. It turns out he lives at the house she called home as a child, a house of horrors, for her, where her father beat her, mercilessly, and locked her in the basement, regularly, in an effort to subdue and eliminate her power to communicate with the world she would come to know as The Further. But she ultimately relents and makes the journey with her trusted companions, Tucker and Specs (Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell). She will have to battle her own dark secrets, face her own personal fears, and confront her own demons in her most challenging, and personal, mission yet.

The film deals in both basic Horror tropes and established franchise structure. Its deviation from either is near zero. Its purpose isn't to reinvent the genre or franchise wheel but rather to dig into its past and shine a light on Elise, exploring her psychic powers in greater detail by returning her to her roots in a run-down New Mexico home where her own past is darker than The Further and her father more of a monster than the demons she can see. But that's also a problem. It's not so much that the film builds the backstory, it's that it does nothing interesting with it. The abusive father angle does nothing to help distinguish the character or differentiate the franchise from many others. It takes the easy way out, giving Elise a basic, paint-by-numbers backstory, putting all the pieces in place in the first ten minutes and simply plowing through predictable happenings and revelations the rest of the way forward. The film, to its credit, does work hard to not only build her story but also explore some of the connective tissues between this film and previous entries. It's franchise fan service, capable of adding and exploring, but without much creativity or gut-punch twists and turns.

The acting and script both leave much to be desired. Lin Shaye exhibits little energy in the role, even as it's a very personal journey, returning to her home, bearing witness to past secrets reborn, and coming to better understand who she is what role her past and present play in the story and the dark realm of The Further. Even series staples Specs and Tucker, portrayed by Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson, are their typical selves, bumbling buffoons who fawn over a pair of pretty girls and trip over their own words, but capable when push comes to shove and very loyal to Elise. Atmospherically, the film is fine, again not particularly novel in terms of either the franchise's established visual patterns of the Horror genre in general. The film does boast the typically strong makeup and digital effects, though it's more reliant on sharp musical cue jump scares and lighting than it is actual frights derived from the story.

Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Insidious: The Last Key was digitally photographed. The image isn't particularly remarkable. Core clarity and details are fine, including facial textures, worn down wallpapers and woods in the house, a sandy floor in the basement, and old weathered suitcases. There's enough basic sharpness and detail around nearly every frame to please. Colors are neutrally presented, most prominent in brighter scenes, though splashes even in darker locales illuminated by direct or reflected light are fine, too. Whites are crisp, notably the familiar shirts Specs and Tucker wear, and the blue and gray low light prominence is delivered with a healthy retention of shot detail and color accuracy. Some occasional jolts of banding and macroblocking are evident, and can be particularly significant and frequent in darker swatches, such as in chapter five when Elise wanders through a dark room as well as in any similarly dark stretch, which is much of the film. Speaking of, black levels can be a bit on the drained side, but only at times. Flesh tones appear contextually fine under various lighting conditions.

Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Insidious: The Last Key's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is largely defined by its smart, accurate reproduction of some typical Horror movie jump cues, with sharp, stringy notes striking into the stage (and traversing it to match the on-screen action) to support sudden bursts of scary moments. There are some additional one-off and well imaged sound effects, including creaking stairs and other such typical Horror film sonic fodder moments that are impressively staged and detailed. Heavier effects -- an engine little Elise uses to power the lights in a basement early in the film, an oil derrick outside the house -- crank out with satisfying power and low end support. A deep low end push puts an exclamation mark on the movie in the final minutes. Modest external ambience naturally filters in and flutters about, dialogue reverberates as necessary, and some voices float around the stage with precise movement and placement, particularly in chapter 14 as the film approaches its climax. General dialogue is clear with strongly center-positioned placement, clarity, and prioritization.

Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Insidious: The Last Key contains a few featurettes, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Dive Into the Insidious Universe (1080p, 4:38): A quick piece that "spoils s#it real fast" by recapping the entire series.
• Chilling Deleted Scenes (1080p, 18:52 total runtime): Elise Won't Take the Garza Job, Keyface Needs to Feed, The Great Prayer Robbery, Elise Tells Tucker a Childhood Story, Imogen Attacked, Monkey Speak, Baby Kill Behind Red Door, and Electric Chair Scare.
• Alternate Ending: Further Prison (10890p, 3:02): An unused finale for the film.
• Unlocking the Keys (1080p, 2:35): A quick piece that recaps the plot, explores themes, and covers characters. It also touches on makeup and the film's demon villain, Keyface.
• Going Into the Further (1080p, 3:30): Cast and crew share a few bullet points about the film's frightening world.
• Becoming Elise (1080p, 5:29): A closer look at Lin Shaye's performance as the franchise's main character.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Insidious: The Last Key Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Insidious: The Last Key is one of those movies that largely defies the critical process. It's made for its pre-built audience, digs deeper into the foundational lore, and hits all of the series' high notes that fans expect. Essentially, it dances with the audience that brought it. It's fan service, and it works well enough in that regard. Those who enjoy the series will probably like it, and those who have yet to watch an Insidious movie more than likely won't start here and will know well before they reach the fourth film whether they'll want to watch it. Sony's Blu-ray struggles through some of its darker scenes, but video quality is otherwise good. Audio is strong and the supplements are fine. Recommended to franchise fans.