After ‘Insidious’ brought the previously somewhat dusty haunted house horror back to cinemas with great success, it was of course clear that James Wan’s ghost horror would be expanded into a franchise.
Although all successors were significantly weaker than the first, the series only reached this point “Treacherous 4“, which will be broadcast today, November 8 at 11:55 PM on Tele 5, their absolute lowest point. If you still want to watch it, but without advertising on TV: the film is of course also available for home cinema, and can be ordered from Amazon, among others:
This is what “Insidious 4: The Last Key” is about
The famous parapsychologist Elise Rainier (genre veteran Lin Shaye) now lives with the two ghost hunters Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). Together they run the company , specialized in exorcising demons. Their latest case takes the unlikely team to New Mexico – and thus back to Elise’s past.
Her parents’ house still stands here, where she experienced terrible things as a child, and where another family is now haunted by dark forces. Elise must face her greatest fear and once again encounters the immortal being called Key Face: a demon she accidentally freed as a child. If she succeeds in capturing Key Face, all captured souls will be free. But if she fails, Elise’s mind will also be damned forever…
“Insidious” is running out
The series ‘Insidious’ clearly illustrates that the narrative impact of horror series is limited: at a certain point it just becomes boring. With “Insidious 4: The Last Key,” produced by Blumhouse, director Adam Robitel (“Escape Room”) and Leigh Whannell (screenplay for “Saw”) went a little too far. The conclusion of the official FILMSTARTS review, which rates the film only 2 out of 5 stars, says:
“The makers are running out of breath with the fourth part of the successful ‘Insidious’ franchise. After a promising start, the tiresome predictability of plot and production is only compensated by a few successful moments.
The first twenty minutes, in which you gain insight into Elise’s violent family life, are really convincing because ‘Insidious 4’ does not yet work according to the well-known and equally transparent jump scare pattern. After that, however, the fourth part fades completely into insignificance because it is no longer interested in the characters, but in them. superficial shock effects sets that need to be as loud and clear as possible.
Especially in the last third, the horror film actually fails by itself, as the review notes: “The reunion between Elise and her brother Christian is scandalously contrived, while the finale turns out to be in the parallel world already known from the other. Treacherous’ films Polter spectacle overloaded with CGI effects proves […] With this overkill, director Adam Robitel robs the film of its last genre credibility.