After 12 years and billions at the box office, the popular Conjuring franchise finally reaches its conclusion with The Conjuring: Last Rites, a flawed but satisfying conclusion to a series that has been thrilling horror fans since the release of the first film back in 2013.
Director Michael Chaves is no stranger to The Conjuring universe, as he previously helmed The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II, while scriptwriters Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (who developed the original story alongside series co-creator and producer James Wan) all managed to create a satisfyingly suspenseful final entry.
What happens in The Conjuring: Last Rites
The film once again reacquaints us with Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are ready to retire from their ghost-hunting business and settle down. But things take a turn for the worse when a family, known as the Smurls, comes into possession of an apparently haunted mirror, which wreaks havoc in their Pennsylvania home. When all else fails, the Smurls call the Warrens to come and investigate the mirror, and two horrendous secrets are soon uncovered.
It needs to be said that, once again, if you are a skeptic, you will find The Conjuring: Last Rites to be a little too silly in places. Especially throughout the incredibly silly and often immature climax, in which you were actually supposed to be scared by things like banging doors and crashing windows. To make matters even more implausible, everything that happened was treated with such utter seriousness that it came across as unintentionally funny in places.
What works and what doesn't
As disturbing as it was meant to be, you will no doubt crack a smile when you witness the characters trying to carry out the supposedly cursed mirror while urgently discussing how it will try to stop them from moving it. And Ed and Lorraine described the collection of supposedly haunted items within their basement with such unwavering seriousness that it almost seemed like the writers really were trying to sneak in humor into unsuspecting scenes.
However, there was a knowingly amusing line from Ed about none of the items being toys, even the actual toys.
The performances were commendable to everyone involved. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have now been playing Ed and Lorraine Warren for so long that they could convincingly play the roles in their sleep, and the two performers once again expertly came across as a couple who deeply love each other and will do anything to protect the other from harm.
Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy were also both on top form on Judy Warren and Tony Spera, the respective daughter of the Warrens, and her boyfriend, who is a former police officer. The chemistry between Tomlinson and Hardy was believable enough to make you believe that Judy and Tony deserve each other, therefore making you care even more during the scenes where one had to save the other from danger, despite the usual absurdity of the situations.
And the actors playing the Smurls all did praiseworthy jobs, with Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Beau Gadsdon, Molly Cartwright, Tilly Walker, and Kíla Lord Cassidy all delivering believable depictions of an anguished family who desperately want things to return to normal.
The film also heavily faltered in regard to its pace. The Warrens did not become involved with the plight of the Smurls until relatively late into the picture when the two families finally met. Instead, most of the first half of the film consisted of a painfully slow reveal of the mirror owned by the Smurls being cursed while Ed and Lorraine got to know Tony and privately argued about whether he would be a good partner for Judy.
Although there was some decent character development throughout these scenes, it ultimately felt like too little happened in relation to the actual plot, although the relatively long runtime allowed for occasionally long and meandering scenes where nothing really happened. If you were not already invested in the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, you would probably not be able to remain focused during the scenes showcasing their prolonged garden party or Ed’s light-hearted banter about his dietary habits with his doctor during his routine check-up.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is one of the few films in The Conjuring Universe that proudly embraces its R-rating. From the sight of a person being stabbed in the neck with an axe with copious amounts of blood splatter to a brutal leg injury caused by the evil mirror, this is a film that absolutely earned its higher age rating, although the profanity was still largely kept to a minimum.
Since the previous Conjuring Universe films are known for incredibly soft R-ratings, which almost feel PG-13, it is refreshing for the supposed final film in the series to actually feel like it was targeting a mature audience.
If you are already a fan of The Conjuring franchise, you will probably be enthralled by The Conjuring: Last Rites and the thrilling conclusion it offers to Ed and Lorraine’s story, with the emotional stakes being higher than ever as the characters embark on one final journey.
Although it was undeniably a little slow and silly in places, this is still a fitting conclusion to one of the horror genre’s most popular franchises.
Score: 3/5