Insidious: The Last Key

Insidious: The Last Key is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell. It is the fourth released Insidious film and follows Insidious: Chapter 3, while its principal story is set before the events of the first Insidious. Lin Shaye again plays paranormal investigator Elise Rainier, the character she had portrayed in the earlier films. Angus Sampson and Whannell return as Tucker and Specs, Elise’s technical assistant and comic partner, respectively.

The film begins in 1953 in Five Keys, New Mexico, where young Elise suffers under the violent authority of her father, Gerald Rainier. Her mother Audrey encourages Elise’s unusual ability to perceive spirits, but Gerald treats it as a curse. After Audrey’s death, Elise leaves home, haunted by the belief that she failed her younger brother Christian. Decades later, a man named Ted Garza contacts Elise because he believes his house is haunted. Elise discovers that the address is her childhood home.

At the house, Elise encounters spirits connected to her family’s past and learns that Gerald had imprisoned women in a hidden room. The film identifies the human captor as Garza, who had been living in the property, and introduces a demon known as KeyFace, distinguished by keys protruding from its fingers. KeyFace feeds on fear and uses keys to lock away victims’ voices. Christian, now estranged from Elise, and his daughters Imogen and Melissa become involved after Elise returns to Five Keys.

Kirk Acevedo plays Ted Garza, Josh Stewart plays Gerald Rainier, Bruce Davison plays Christian, Caitlin Gerard plays Imogen, and Spencer Locke plays Melissa. Ava Kolker portrays Elise as a child; Hana Hayes plays the teenage Elise. Javier Botet performs KeyFace. Tessa Ferrer plays Audrey Rainier.

Produced by Jason Blum, James Wan and Oren Peli, the film was made through Blumhouse Productions, Stage 6 Films and Entertainment One. Universal Pictures released it in the United States on January 5, 2018. Its reported production budget was $10 million, and it earned more than $167 million worldwide, making it a major commercial success. The ending connects directly to the original Insidious: after resolving the Five Keys case, Elise receives a call about a boy named Dalton Lambert. She agrees to investigate, establishing the assignment that leads into the 2010 film. The Last Key therefore gives Elise a family-history storyline while preserving her role as the series’ central medium and protagonist.