“Insidious: The Last Key” writer Leigh Whannell walks us through the big hint about how the Red-Faced Demon was able to get to Dalton in the original film
Justin Lubin/Universal
(Major spoilers ahead for “Insidious: The Last Key”)
After four “Insidious” movies, we’ve gone in kind of a circle. The third and fourth films take place before the original — and now the final scene of “The Last Key” brings us right up against that first movie, as Elise (Lin Shaye) receives the fateful phone call that will bring her to help the Lambert family deal with the demonic forces attempting to possess young Dalton’s body.
But that’s not the only reference to the first “Insidious” movie in “The Last Key” — an earlier callback would seem to indicate that the events of this fourth movie actually spurred the plot of “Insidious” into motion.
The big moment comes late in the film, when Elise and her niece Imogen (Caitlin Gerard) are rescuing Imogen’s sister Melissa (Spencer Locke) from the spiritual realm known as the Further. As the trio are attempting to flee the portion of that plane ruled by the “The Last Key” villain Keyface, they enter a red door and find Dalton on the other side, in his bedroom. Not knowing who Dalton was or the significance of the red door, they continue on and successfully save Melissa.
Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About ‘Insidious’ Before Watching ‘Insidious: The Last Key’
The story in “The Last Key” involves Keyface attempting to harness Elise’s ability to interact with the spirit world in order to gain access to “all the red doors.” Keyface doesn’t succeed, of course, as it’s destroyed by Elise and Imogen at the climax of the movie. But all is perhaps not well, because of that red door they walk through at the end.
I interpreted that moment, when Elise and her nieces encounter Dalton in the Further, to mean that she inadvertently opened the door, literally and metaphorically, for the demons to go after Dalton and generally cause chaos for the Lambert family. Leigh Whannell, the co-creator of the “Insidious” series and writer of all four films, said when I asked him that I was right to read it that way.
“I thought it would be interesting to play upon the idea that Elise herself had some hand in that first film by opening doors and running through,” Whannell said, before elaborating further on what exactly the red doors actually are.
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“The doors to me are like literal representations of a metaphysical idea, which is doors between different planes of existence. So we have this plane in this room [referring to the room in which our interview was being held] sitting here on this couch, but then all the other things that have ever happened in this room are kind of overlayed — we just can’t see them. So I see the red doors as sort of opening a door between those two, where things from those other planes can come in.”
The crucial bit of lore added by “The Last Key” being, then, that the doors can’t just be opened by any person or demon — they have to be unlocked somehow, and Elise seems to be able to do just that, ushering in the various demons from the first film when she used that ability.
Whannell explained also that this was a new wrinkle added in “The Last Key,” rather than a reveal they’d been building toward since that original movie.
“It wasn’t something we planned on in the first film,” Whannell said. “In the subsequent writing of the sequels, I’ve had fun playing with this idea of what the Further is and what the red doors represent.”
But if you’re looking for insight into what this new development may mean for the future of the “Insidious” series, you’re going to be stuck speculating for a while, because Whannell hasn’t yet sketched out how this addition series lore will play into future installments.
“I feel like my life would maybe be a lot easier if I pre-planned all this stuff,” Whannell said, “but I never know what I’m gonna do until I get there. I don’t really sit down and think about it until the clock has started ticking on the job.”
And since that clock hasn’t yet started ticking, your guess about where the series will go from here is as good as anyone’s.
25 Scariest Horror Movies to Stream on Netflix and Amazon for Halloween (Photos)
If you have a Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription, you’ll have no shortage of horror movies within reach at any given moment — and TheWrap picked the scariest ones sure to induce nightmares.
“Saw” through “Saw: The Final Chapter” (Netflix)
The “Saw” movies are best known for being about people getting murdered gruesomely. While there is a fair amount dismemberment, the better part of the series is how each of the movies continually expands the lore and each one captures the powerful dread of being caught in a deadly trap with no way out.
“Starry Eyes” (Netflix)
The pursuit of fame for one young actress leads her down an extremely dark path in “Starry Eyes.” One part jealous descent into madness, one part Satanic cult movie, “Starry Eyes” is great about subverting expectations and getting its characters embroiled in horrific weirdness.
“13 Cameras” (Netflix)
Anyone who’s ever had a landlord that gave them a weird vibe will relate to “13 Cameras,” in which a young couple rents a home from an extremely creepy old man. He’s got a voyeuristic bent, with cameras set up throughout the house, which is upsetting enough. That’d be upsetting enough, but it’s what the landlord plans to do with all those cameras that makes “13 Cameras” so unsettling.
“The Invitation” (Netflix)
Director Karyn Kusama puts together a dinner party in “The Invitation” that’s a horror unto itself. The movie finds a couple stuck at what quickly becomes an extremely uncomfortable dinner, but the whole movie is punctuated by characters wondering if they’re not just overreacting to their friends’ awkward new spiritual convictions. The less you know about this one going in, the better.
“The Last Exorcism” (Amazon Prime)
There’s no end to found footage movies these days, especially on streaming services. But just because a genre draws a lot of weak, low-budget offerings doesn’t mean they’re all bad, and “The Last Exorcism” is the kind of movie that shows the strength of found footage done well. It follows a preacher who admits to scamming people with exorcisms and turns to debunking — but then brings him into a situation where he’s not sure if what he sees is fake or not.
“The Witch” (Amazon Prime)
Robert Eggers has created one of the most challenging horror films of the year: a slow-burn tale of a Puritan family that is hunted by the occult and their peculiar farm goat, Black Philip. The unveiling of the goat’s true identity is one of the most deliciously chilling endings to a movie in recent memory. A24
” Wes Craven ‘s New Nightmare” (Netflix)
This is a Freddy Krueger tale unlike any other. After a decade working on the legendary slasher franchise, Wes Craven turns the camera on himself and the people who made these films with him. “New Nightmare” is an exploration of how horror movies affect their creators, as well as a deconstruction of Freddy Krueger’s shift from Craven’s original vision as the ultimate nightmare to a goofy comic relief figure whose kills the audience had come to root for. New Line Cinema
“Children of the Corn” (Netflix)
This list wouldn’t be complete without creepy children, and “Children of the Corn” is arguably the greatest creepy children movie ever. Sorry, Damien, but you’ve got nothing on these kids who murdered all the adults in town and now rule it for themselves.
“An American Werewolf In London” (Amazon Prime)
Even 35 years later, John Landis’ classic is still praised for having the most magnificent werewolf transformation scene of all time. Along with leaving you grossed out and terrified, “American Werewolf” will make you wonder “how did they do that?”
“Hellraiser” (Netflix)
One of the best, and most neglected, horror story tropes is that of monsters from actual Hell who are looking to take you home with them to royally f— you up for all eternity. It’s a whole lot scarier than just the threat of being murdered.
“The Babadook” (Netflix)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a horror film as thoughtful and intelligent as this one. “The Babadook” is a parable about how grief and loss can consume those who suffer through it, and despite all the coaxing and cajoling you’ll get from friends, you’ll never be able to “just let go.” “The Babadook” shows the process of coming to terms with loss and preparing to spend the rest of your life living with that pain, even when it’s scarred over.
