Insidious touched the right chord in 2010 when director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell gave an entertaining horror hit full of cliched jump scares and ghostly figures scaring the wits out of you in passing. However, the franchise couldn't hold it together for long and the latest chapter in the series is a proof that the time has come for its departure. Insidious: The Last Key is a draggy, confusing sequel of Insidious Chapter 3 which offers nothing new and even the old formula of scaring the audience with a hideous demon seems stale.
The film takes place in 2010, a short while before the events of the first film began. The Last Key makes out ample time for flashbacks, beginning with a 1950s-set prologue depicting Elise’s very unhappy childhood. The daughter of a prison warden, Elise, lives in a creaky house filled with spirits (good and bad) where her budding paranormal gifts are already drawing the attention of the ghost roaming in the house along with the irk of her abusive father. Soon, Elise finds herself trapped in her house’s basement at night, beckoned by a child’s voice to unlock a mysterious red door, which she does with tragic consequences.
Back in the present day, Elise revisits her house after receiving a phone call from its current owner only to experience all the dreaded thing once again and well, also to reunite with her brother and find a family. If you slept while reading what the film was about, think about the poor soul who watched the entire horrific storyline unfold. Now, it's not that the film isn't layered. There is a fleeting preachy line of the monster in 'The Further' and living monsters, but there is a chance you miss out on it all, amidst all the snores of either your own or your fellow viewers.
The film does offer a few scares here and there until the time the lead demonic entity isn't unveiled. The moment the 'key monster' appears, all you can her is laughs and yawns. There is nothing new in the franchise and the entire plot is predictable to the last stair of the basement. You have seen it all before (apart from the hilarious key monster who is organised enough to hold keys of different parts of spirits on his fingertips, because well The Further is a confusing place to lose keys!)
The film is entirely dedicated to Lin Shaye and despite a boring plot she tries to bite into as much of her character as possible. The woman is talented and probably the only thing that can make you survive this bore. However, one sane character can't always carry the entire film and the same happens here.
It's time the makers realize that the horror spirit of the Insidious franchise needs a release as it has been juiced out to its last molecule. Until and unless they literally pull out a miraculously dangerous story from the Further, the series can now be declared dead and for good.
Alas! Another shot of a terrifying experience lost in the dark dungeons of repetitive Hollywood horror genre.
Rating:2/5
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