A star rating of 3 out of 5.
In a surprising yet familiar turn, the most iconic horror film series concludes, featuring less novelty and more echoes of previous ghost-hunting exploits by the formidable psychic team, Ed (played by Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by Vera Farmiga).
As a fervent admirer, I must say that Michael Chaves skillfully directs “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” a horror movie filled with polished scares that are reminiscent of his previous works like “The Nun II,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” and “The Curse Of La Llorona.” However, while it delivers on the classic themes of demonic possession and poltergeist encounters, this latest installment in the Conjuring series doesn’t exactly blaze new trails in the genre.
Chaves skillfully incorporates the standard elements of a suspenseful film – abrupt ghostly appearances, unheard off-screen sounds, gradual camera movements revealing ominous items, and direct confrontations with spirits. However, what’s lacking is the intense thrill, as Last Rites appears to be influenced more by the Amityville Horror series than by anything uniquely supernatural in its storytelling.
1964 marked the beginning of the Warrens’ investigation into an unsettling mystery involving a cursed, eerie antique mirror. This supernatural artifact was said to have caused Lorraine, who was pregnant at the time, to experience a distressing childbirth, giving birth to their daughter Judy (played by Mia Tomlinson).
Five years following the events depicted in “The Devil Made Me Do It,” Ed and Lorraine, now semi-retired, find themselves delivering lectures at a secure university, having decided to take a step back from investigating supernatural phenomena due to Ed’s heart attack in the third installment.
In the course of my life, as I prepare to walk down the aisle with Tony, my new ex-cop companion, I find myself uneasy about our upcoming wedding. This unsettling feeling has been triggered by some events that Father Gordon, a familiar figure in our community, has shared with us. He mentioned a peculiar family called the Smurls who moved into their West Pittston, Pennsylvania, home back in 1973. Living in this house, they experienced years of bizarre disturbances and inexplicable spiritual activity within their duplex. The family, made up of eight members, chose to reveal their harrowing ordeal to the public only in 1986, sharing their tales of unimaginable torment that occurred within their walls.
Following Reverend Gordon’s visit to senior Catholic Church authorities regarding a proposed exorcism for the media-frenzied Smurl family, ‘compassionate’ Judy finds herself inexplicably intrigued by this situation.
Therefore, due to their worry, her parents have no choice but to join her on Chase Street, a place where three demons seem to be ruling over the Smurl household. The haunted mirror from their past is the apparent cause of the chaos, characterized by peculiar noises, shadowy figures, attacks by common objects during the day, nighttime levitation, and an unsettling presence by Annabelle, a doll well-known in spin-offs within the Conjuring series.
The strong chemistry between Wilson and Farmiga remains the main focus in this lengthy, somewhat outdated story with an expected yet engaging twist. Despite its predictability, the plot is competently managed in delivering a persistent, chilling tension throughout. However, the repetitive portrayal of romantic entanglements tends to detract from the overall narrative flow, undermining the effective traditional suspense-building process.
Remarkable instances involve setting up a phone line for a pantry, a chilling death scene reminiscent of the movie “Final Destination”, an unsettling encounter in a wedding dress fitting room that feels like a brush with the underworld, and a climactic, terrifying whirl of a haunted mirror, spinning like a dervish.
As a die-hard horror fan, I can’t help but admire Chaves’s masterful cinematic direction that skillfully propels the tried-and-true theatrics towards an epic finale. The climax is nothing short of brilliant, as it pays homage to the beloved Conjuring universe in a heartfelt epilogue where franchise veterans gracefully reunite on screen. To top it all off, there’s even a delightful cameo by none other than James Wan, the man behind the camera and pen, appearing just as the credits roll, accompanied by archived footage and home movies of the enigmatic Warren family carrying out their controversial daily routines.
The success of the nine-film horror franchise has started to dwindle, and although Last Rites doesn’t quite capture the terror that defined the first movie, it still manages to deliver familiar scary moments in a reliable manner.
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2025-09-03 20:05