On January 5, 2018, the fifth installment of the Insidious franchise was released. The movie features returning, familiar characters along with some fresh new faces to the series.

The Last Key tells the backstory of the famed psychic Elise Rainier, played by Lin Shaye. The film begins in New Mexico during World War ll. We see a family of four that lives next to a prison, which is later established as Elise’s family.

Things turn rather dark in the opening scene when Elise’s father punishes her for her gift, seeing spirits. He throws her in the garage outside, which is where she encounters a spirit with an insidious agenda; to take advantage of her and control her for her gift.

After the backstory scene, we see the Elise we’re used to, in her 60s, with the two young guys who assist her when people call for help when it comes to the paranormal. Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell) refuse to let Elise go alone when she gets a call asking for help at the infamous house that she grew up in, fearing the demon from her childhood is back to haunt and manipulate her.

I think this movie was an enormous success with its plot twists and foreshadowing to stories the previous Insidious films that we all know. However, it’s not necessary to have seen the previous installments of the franchise to see the newest film. The producers at Blumhouse Productions did an excellent job with making sure the film is easy to follow, for new and old fans alike.

Blumhouse Productions has done great with the Insidious movies and others, such as The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Purge, and Sinister, just to name a few. I guess the producers like to switch up the time frames and events throughout a movie franchise at Blumhouse, as

Insidious: The Last Key ends where the beginning of the first movie, Insidious, begins.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. Even if you’re not the biggest horror flick fan, I think it’s bearable for the faint of heart. However, I would suggest waiting for it to come out on DVD or Netflix, since the speakers at the movie theaters are so loud and make you jumpy. The Last Key was a great installment of the Insidious franchise, with its new characters mixed with familiar ones, storyline, and the way the movie ties into the first movie.

The next movie produced by Blumhouse Productions will be Truth or Dare, which is expected to come out April 13, 2018. Like the Insidious series, it too will be a horror movie, so be sure to check it out if you are a fan of their previous films.