The Conjuring: Last Rites

The Conjuring: Last Rites
Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy
Directed by Michael Chaves

Ed and Lorraine Warren are two of the most well-known demonologists and paranormal researchers in history, having claimed to work on over one thousand cases of the unexplained, including the infamous Amityville horror. While many hold to their authenticity, even more feel they were charlatans and con-artists who took advantage of the people they claimed to help. Obviously I don't know if they were real or not, but I've always been fascinated by their work, and James Wan brought them to the general masses with his hugely successful film "The Conjuring" in 2013, earning over $300,000,000 worldwide and spawned its own cinematic universe including three "Annabelle" films, two "The Nun" movies and four "Conjuring" films, culminating in "Last Rites," the last ride for the supernatural superhero duo. While obviously movies take liberties with "based on a true story," some people can't get over how inaccurate they are - and this one is highly inaccurate - but that wasn't the main deterrent from me enjoying it: it's the false advertising. 

In 1964, a young Ed and Lorraine Warren were investigating their first case when they come upon a demonic mirror that causes Lorraine to go into labor, and the demon inside the mirror wants her recently born baby Judy. In 1986, Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is in her early twenties and is dating former police officer Tony Spera (Ben Hardy), and continually keeps her own psychic abilities under wraps after experiencing it all her life, and having her mother Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) teach her to suppress it. As Lorraine and Ed (Patrick Wilson) grow accustomed to Tony being in Judy's life, in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, a family is haunted by evil spirits and they can't find the help they need, so they turn to the media. Judy is drawn to the family and heads off solo, hoping to save them from their problems - forcing Ed and Lorraine to return out of retirement to save their daughter and the Smurl family.

"The Conjuring" franchise has had its ups and downs when it comes to the critics, but audiences overall seem obsessed with the series, earning over two billion dollars worldwide. While some have been praised as modern-day horror masterpieces ("The Conjuring," "The Conjuring 2," "Annabelle: Creation"), others have been lauded as not being scary or good at all ("The Curse of La Llorona," "The Nun," "The Nun II"), and for me, "Last Rites" falls somewhere near the back end of the franchise. It's not as scary as I was expecting it to be, and that lies with the film's main issue for me: it was marketed as a balls to the wall horror movie much like the original, but instead it's a family drama about the Warrens with some jump scares mixed in before finally coming together in the last forty-five minutes of the 135 minute runtime.

I love the story of the Warrens and would greatly love a movie that focused on them and their unique family, which is what "Last Rites" was mostly about. It centers on Ed and Lorraine dealing with their daughter Judy's rather unorthodox birth and them dealing with her having the same gifts as Lorraine - being able to see the other side. Judy represses her power with Lorraine's help, but as everyone knows that never is a foolproof method, and Judy is haunted by the demons who want to claim her for themselves. But it's not all doom and gloom, as Judy's new boyfriend Tony interacts with Ed and Lorraine much like how any future prospective son-in-law would: with Lorraine treating him with love and kindness and Ed showing visible disdain in the film's very comedic moments. 

The main strength of "The Conjuring" movies is the relationship between Ed and Lorraine and especially its actors, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Both are acclaimed in their own right and both obviously love the franchise and each other, and their connection is undeniable and palpable. You believe they've been married for decades, and Farmiga in particular shines as Lorraine (but Wilson more than holds his own, especially in this film, providing the comedic relief that any father of a girl could relate to). When they investigate they really shine, and their encounters at the Smurl house is the movie's highlight as well, delivering the chills and terror you'd expect from "The Conjuring" - too bad it happens way too late in the film.

It seems that as each "Conjuring" movie occurs, the divide between the Warrens and their cases grow. In the first film they're pretty much at the Perron house from the get-go, with the jump scares occurring at a breakneck pace. The second film saw them spend most of the time with the Hodgson family in London with the terror still going strong, but their marriage bond becoming stronger. "The Devil Made Me Do It" was a departure from the norm, centering more on a court case they were famous for participating in where they tried to prove that Arne Johnson killed a man because he was possessed. That movie wasn't as jump scary as the others, but still had its moments and further solidified their relationship which took more of a prominent spot than the previous two. Now, it seems there's a disconnect between the two, separating the movie into two mini-movies before bringing them back together in a rather contrived (and completely made up) way. I was hoping the case would be the focus of the movie, but instead it was the Warrens story - and again, I liked that, but I wish it was advertised as such, because the scares were scarce and the connection between the Warrens and the Smurls wasn't really there.

Michael Chaves has directed the last four "Conjuring" universe films ("Last Rites," "The Devil Made Me Do It," "The Nun II" and "The Curse of La Llorona"), and he's responsible for some of the worst-rated movies in the universe. He has an issue with pacing and editing, especially when it comes to "Last Rites," as there were numerous scenes that either didn't need to be there, or went on for far too long that could've cut the runtime (which is the longest in the entire franchise) and made it a more tight, compact story. The pacing was also suffering, as it goes from jump scare moment to family drama and back again over and over, to the point where I fully saw the scares coming a mile away and wasn't bothered by them. 

Then there's the CGI. I don't know what it is lately with most movies that focus on CGI, but they seem to have taken a few steps back in terms of quality. The spirits (with the exception of the male demon) were laughably bad, with one being so outlandishly poorly done it reminded me of the dreaded kid's head from "Thor: Love & Thunder." "The Conjuring" has been known for using more practical effects and makeup (most notably Bonnie Aaron's transformation into the Nun), so relying almost solely on CGI really diminished the realism that movie wanted to deliver, and took me out of the story at the most heightened times.

When it comes to being the sendoff for the Warrens, "Last Rites" does achieve that feat by giving us more Ed and Lorraine than we've gotten before, with impeccable performances by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, and passing the torch successfully to Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy's Judy and Tony. However, when it comes to doing what "The Conjuring" is best known for - delivering wall-to-wall scares - the movie falls frustratingly flat, leaving me wanting more than what I got.

The Score: B+