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The Conjuring: Last Rites Review: A Fond (If Not Scary) Farewell
When James Wan released The Conjuring in 2013, it rekindled the haunted house sub-genre of horror, and spawned a franchise that followed the times and expanded into a whole franchise universe. However, the subsequent sequels and spinoff films have increasingly leaned into more traditional horror movie tropes, not to mention getting ensnared by in-universe lore and connections. With that all on the table, it should be no surprise that The Conjuring: Last Rites is a movie that has to pull a lot of threads together into a culminating chapter of the franchise. It should equally be no suprise that the end result is a very mixed bag.
The story of The Conjuring: Last Rites catches up with Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) in their golden years. Their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is all grown up, and looking to settle down with her man Tony (Ben Hardy). Ed and Lorraine are retired from paranormal investigation and exorcisms, and try to enjoy their family life while ignoring the whispers from evil spirits that are always on the periphral. However, a case in small town Pennsylvania slowly but surely grows so big that the church can’t help but to ignore it; and when it becomes clear the evil entity has a grudge to settle with the Warrens (all of them), retirement must get put on hold.
Last Rites is directed by longtime Conjuring franchise director Michael Chaves, who helmed The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II. While some Conjuring Universe fans may rate those entries as some of lowest in the franchise, it’s undeniable that Chaves has achieved The Conjuring franchise’s new signature, which has traded haunted house jump scares for psychological horror that blurs the line between reality and dreams/visions – a far cry from where the franchise started, but not without potential to deliver good scares.
Unfortunately the story and script (which unites the combined efforts of James Wan, Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick) is too scattered and unbalanced. Last Rites invests too much screen time meandering through The Warrens geriatric drama, and too much time on Judy’s adult coming-of-age angst, or Tony’s struggle to earn patriarichal approval. The actual reason for a Conjuring movie – a desperate family struggling to stay together and survive a demonic infestation – is relegated to a series of side-scenes, which only serve to remind us that there is an actual horror movie narrative unfolding. At 135 minutes long, Last Rites feels egregious for all the time it wastes on mundane matters, and definitely feels bottom-heavy with a structure that saves that actual haunted house visit ofr the final 30 minutes (or less). There also an (over)indulgence in taking nod at the franchise’s past, with both direct and Easter egg references to past films and characters – and it should surprise one spinoff icon
Performances are not an issue, at all: At this point, Wilson and Farmiga have lived with these characters for over a decade, and know every minute detail of portraying them. In many ways, Last Rites feels like a gift to Wilson and Farmiga, allowing them to dig into the darmatic meat and subtext of the characters, wtih more focus and depth than any other installmet. The actors get to stretch their acting muscles, rather than shoving horrific creatures or fear reactions to the forefront. And while they’ve certainly earned the right, it’s a gift given at significant cost to the film’s propulsion.
With Ed and Lorraine in a different film all their own, the rest of The Conjuring: Last Rites cast is left to do the horror heavy-lifting. Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy both do an admirable job in this backdoor origin story for the next generation of Warren household demon-hunters, and could arguably carry the series forward, if needed. The haunted family in this installment is handed the most complicated storyline to play out, as their are eight of them, ranging from young to elderly (including actors Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Peter Wight, and Kate Fahy). It’s ultimately a shame that the Smurl Family’s scenes are cut down to so little, as the drama and banter in the crowded home, the various spirits haunting it, and scares sequences set there, are all some of the best in the series since the original. But again, the Warrens’ story overshadows everything going on with the Smurls, to near eclipse.
In the end, The Conjuring: Last Rites is a well-earned indulgence for those who have invested a considerable part of their professinal lives bringing the work of the Warrens to mainstream audiences, helping inspire a whole new franchise for horror fans to enjoy. For viewers who are as invested in Ed and Lorraine as they are the horror of these films, Last Rites will be a rousing enough finish; for other horror fans, it’ll be hard to deny that this frnachise looks old and tired, especially in a year where horror is showcasing so many fresh ideas on how to scare us.
RATING: 2.5 (out of 5) stars
The Conjuring: Last Rites is now playing in theaters.
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