Insidious: The Last Key

This sequel a la prequel takes place in 2010, before the events from the first Insidious movie, as Dr. Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) is summoned back to her childhood home which sits within a prison compound where her abusive dad (Josh Stewart from The Collector) worked. Able to connect with ghosts from an early age, her dad hoped to beat the psychic out of her, prompting her as a teenager to run away, leaving her brother, Christian (Thomas Robie), behind. What makes this installment so different is that it’s as much a crime-thriller as a supernatural haunted house entry and, unlike most “horror” films, the two kids – Christian and the young Elise (Ava Kolker) – are more convincing than their adult counterparts. Add to the mix that Elise’s ghost-hunting partners, Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (franchise writer Leigh Whannel), have been brought to the forefront as major players, and the good news is whether or not you’ve seen the previous three Insidious movies, this one is almost a standalone endeavor. And yes, the crimes committed provide the needed intervention in The Further, that realm where the spirits move freely before attaching themselves to the living.

[PG-13]