James Wan Commends Former Collaborator Leigh Whannell for 'Insidious: The Last Key'

Thanks to films like The Conjuring and Furious 7, James Wan has become one of the most sought-after talents in Hollywood, with his next project being Aquaman. Prior to these bigger studio films, Wan got his start with small-budget thrillers like Saw and Insidious, which he developed with collaborator Leigh Whannell. Ahead of the release of Insidious: The Last Key, Wan took to Twitter to share his admiration for the new chapter in the series he co-created.

The Insidious franchise is known for injecting not only horrors but also humor into its storylines, with Wan joking, "I gotta say. #InsidiousTheLastKey is @LWhannell's funniest horror work since SAW. But, like, on purpose this time."

Wan and Whannell's collaborations date back to 2004 with Saw, in addition to Dead Silence, Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2. Whannell has not only written each installment in the Insidious series, but has also starred in them all and directed Insidious: Chapter 3.

In addition to joking about Whannell's script being intentionally funny, Wan also shared praise for the film's director, Adam Robitel, as well as series star Lin Shaye.

"#InsidiousTheLastKey is one of my favs in the series. Spooky fun romp! (And funny too!)," Wan shared. "Top work by @AdamRobitel and @linshaye is fantastic as always. The beating heart of the series. Our Donald Pleasence!"

Given that this is only the fourth chapter in the series, it might not sound like too high of praise for Wan to call it "one of my favs," but the director did make sure to commend Lin Shaye, who has also appeared in each chapter.

Josh Stewart, Angus Sampson, Kirk Acevedo, Bruce Davison, Spencer Locke and Caitlin Gerard also star in the film.

Last year, Shaye confirmed that this upcoming film, which takes place after Chapter 3 yet before the original film, will deliver both laughs and frights.

"So it starts out in a very jovial, happy place and then goes downhill from there [laughs]. And 'downhill' meaning 'uphill,' though. It's a fantastic story and it took me back into what made Elise who she is," the actress pointed out to Daily Dead. "You meet my family, my mother, my father—we go back to my hometown, which is in New Mexico. And so that's where this takes place and her quest to find the bad guy that's been haunting her. It's a really wonderful story. I think the fans will really, really enjoy it. And it's scary on levels they're not going to expect."

Insidious: The Last Key hits theaters this Friday.

[H/T Twitter, creepypuppet]