'Insidious: The Last Key' TV Spot: The Horror Comes Home

Insidious: The Last Key is the sequel to Insidious: Chapter 3 and a prequel to Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2. That should be confusing, but these movies are ultimately about one thing and one thing only: scaring the crap right out of you. As long as they get that done, audiences will probably forgive a somewhat chaotic chronology.

The new Insidious: The Last Key trailer is here and it delivers what you'd expect from an Insidious movie: people slowly walking around dark rooms before something with an awful face appears suddenly. By now, you probably know if these movies are for you or not.

Lin Shaye's Elise Rainier has been among the deceased since the end of the first Insidious, but everyone involved in this series rightfully realized that she's the best part of these movies and have bent over backwards to bring her back. That meant making the third movie a origin story of sorts for the ghost-hunting psychic, which transforms the Insidious series into a star vehicle for Shaye, a 74-year old genre veteran. It's not every day that you see a movie series headlined by an actress of advanced age and Elise is a strong argument for letting more senior citizens lead horror films. She's awesome and she brings a gravitas to these movies than a youngster simply could not supply.

Anyway, Insidious: The Last Key looks to deepen the series mythology by bringing the action to Elise's childhood home, which seems to house its fair share of spooks who like to appear suddenly, often accompanied by a sting on the soundtrack. There's even a brief appearance from that Darth Maul-esque demon from the first movie, which suggests that the series' already tight continuity is about to get tighter. If you're like me and feel weirdly invested in these characters, this is all fine and good! If you're not like me and just want an excuse to munch popcorn and scream at ghosts...well, it looks like you'll have a good time, too.

Although written by Insidious series veteran Leigh Whannell (who also directed the third movie), The Last Key finds Adam Robitel stepping behind the camera. Robitel directed 2014's uneven but really freakin' scary The Taking of Deborah Logan, a film filled to the brim with nightmare fuel. It remains to be seen if this movie will be as frightening as his previous work, but this trailer is definitely chock-full of creepy demons and unsettling sights.

Insidious: The Last Key opens on January 5, 2018.