The Further is Calling…

LIN SHAYE is a huge, huge favourite of many a genre fan, with her likely best known for supporting roles in a whole host of horror efforts such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, Alone in the Dark, Amityville: A New Generation, the 2001 Maniacs movies, Snakes on a Plane, Chillerama, the Ouija pictures, not to mention comedic turns in There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber, and for chastising rock music as ‘the devil’ in the splendid Detroit Rock City. Of course, the past decade has seen the hugely charming Shaye playing a vital role in the massively popular Insidious franchise. For the fourth film in that series - INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY - horror hounds were all kinds of excited to hear that Shaye was getting top billing, and ahead of the film’s home release we were lucky enough to grab some time with this horror icon to discuss what she herself describes as “the highlight of my life”, the progression of Shaye’s Elise character throughout the Insidious franchise, the family feel amongst the series’ key players, and we even ask her about her role in the upcoming return of The Grudge.

- Andrew Pollard

STARBURST: How would you describe this film to those who are familiar with the three previous entries in the franchise?

Lin Shaye: I feel in some ways that these are standalone films. Probably, the second one was the one that was really linked most to the continuous story. It’s really about childhood; it’s about the influence that both good and bad can have on you as a child and how you emerge out of it. I love what Leigh Whannell wrote, because the backstory he created was far more sinister and horrifying than anything I’d ever imagined. I’d always thought Elise was a little bit of a loner, she’d spent time by herself, and that’s how her ability opened up - the spirits came to her and she realised she has this ability. Instead, what Leigh wrote is this horrific childhood with a runaway teenager trying to get away from the horror of her background. If you haven’t seen the series then you wouldn’t know this part, but she emerges as this strong, giving woman instead of a bitter A-hole, for lack of a better word. It’s not easy to survive terrible things and still come out unscathed emotionally. Emotionally she is scathed, but she was able to manifest the good part of herself and become this giving adult that she becomes. So it’s really a story of endurance in a way, a story of weathering the storm and being able to create your own sunlight at the end - which I think she does.

Over the four films, we’ve seen a lot of character growth for Elise - with her now shown to be quite the badass. How much fun has it been for you to have been on that rollercoaster from that first film to now?