The Conjuring: Last Rites

Whether you believe in the “true” exploits of demonologists Ed & Lorraine Warren or not (I don’t), The Conjuring series of films, based on their “true” stories, have all been very entertaining, with everything now supposedly coming to an end with The Conjuring: Last Rites. After a prologue in 1964, where we witness the traumatic birth of the Warren’s daughter, Judy, the rest of the movie advances to 1986, with the Warrens now somewhat retired.

They’re still speaking at colleges, before giggly students who crack Ghostbusters jokes at them, but the Warrens have ceased personally investigating creepy cases on their own. That is, until their good friend Father Gordon (Steve Coulter) winds up hanging from a noose, thanks to a demonic attack. Father Gordon had been trying to get the Warrens to investigate the case of the Smurls--a family in Pennsylvania who are suffering through a severe haunting in their house, and when the Warrens finally do get involved, the demons come after all of them, including Judy. Because the family that battles demons stay together…or something like that.

First Rites is a serviceable horror entry: it’s not bad, but it’s nothing special, either. The ghostly aspects seem a bit flat, as if the filmmakers were just going through the motions. Many of the scary set ups--the jump scares, and the like--felt tired and very predictable. We’ve seen them done better in previous Conjuring films. The ghostly aspects were also very dark--literally. Many of the supernatural scenes took place in such dim settings that it was hard to make out what was happening on screen. And, overall, Last Rites just lacked the intensity of the earlier Conjuring films, especially the first two that were directed by James Wan.

The Smurl story also winds up getting badly short-changed, with the resolution to their haunting feeling very rushed. All so the viewer can be told that this film is definitely THE END! Exclamation point! That's it! No more! That’s why the fact that Last Rites was such a huge hit creates an interesting problem. Considering movie studios are loath to walk away from easy money (even with a film that has a definite ending, like this one) you can probably expect either a prequel (The Conjuring: Haunted Pre-School) or another sequel (The Conjuring: The Next Generation) coming up very soon. --SF

The Conjuring: Last Rites is available on Physical Media as well as streaming.

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