MOVIE REVIEW! - "The Conjuring: Last Rites"

Before I get to my review for “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, I want to give a little personal history of my relationship with “The Conjuring” films. From 2006 to 2013, the only time I was a film snob was when it came to the horror genre.

At the time, I was sick and tired primarily of the remakes and reboots that seemed to dominate the genre in the 2000s and I turned my nose up at the genre thinking, “Maybe I’ve just outgrown this genre.”

As a film critic, I would only see a horror film because I had to write a review. In 2013, I hated that the only real movie I could go see in order to turn in a review for the weekend was a new film from “Saw” director James Wan called “The Conjuring” and I went in with all the pretentiousness a film snob could have.

Then, the movie began and it displayed a serious throwback to old school 1970s demonic horror movies. Needless to say, I found myself glued to the screen. The tone was creepy, the story was well written, and Wan and his merry band of filmmakers had earned every jump scare.

The Warrens are back for one final case in 'The Conjuring: Last Rites'.

Since then, I’ve re-embraced the horror genre, first by visiting some of my old favorites such as “Halloween”, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”, and of course, “The Exorcist”. I then caught up on some crazy horror films I missed while I was stupidly looking down on the genre, including Wan’s other great horror series, “Insidious”.

Throughout the past 12 years, I’ve enjoyed not only “The Conjuring” films but also the other films in what is known as “The Conjuring Universe”. So, now here we are, supposedly at the end of the road for the main film series with “Last Rites”.

The movie finds Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) in 1986 while enjoying a supposedly quiet and retired life. Now, the truth is Ed is a little restless because the real reason he had to retire was due to the heart attack he suffered in the third film, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”. However, their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) seems to have the clairvoyant touch that Lorraine has and is having terrible visions.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the Smurl family is enjoying a party after one of their children, Heather (Kila Lord Cassidy) has their confirmation in the Catholic Church. Heather’s grandparents buy her an antique mirror, but soon after, the family is terrified by terrible spirits in the house.

There's supernatural shit afoot in "The Conjuring: Last Rites".

The question is how is the plight of the Smurl family tied with the Warrens, especially Judy? That’s the mystery that the plot is centered around. Well, it’s complicated and leads me to my first complaint about the movie.

For a good chunk of the movie, the Warrens’ story and the Smurl Family’s story don’t interact with one another and you wonder when these two worlds are going to inevitably collide. They definitely could have gotten the Warrens to Pennsylvania long before they did in the movie.

Also, my other complaint is that it felt, when we were with the Warrens especially, that they really wanted to remind us about the previous films. There were plenty of throwbacks to the series that didn’t really feel necessary. I understand that the filmmakers knew this was the last film in the series, but they could have done without a few wink, wink moments.

Beyond this, though, I will say that the movie is pretty effective as a chilling horror film even if the scares aren’t quite as plentiful as some of the earlier entries. There are genuine jump scares when necessary and the third act is particularly thrilling.

The Warrens must help the Smurl family in "The Conjuring: Last Rites".

So, before I give my final verdict, I’ll say the following about the whole “Based on a True Story” thing. For those who don’t know by now, all of these movies are supposedly based on the case files of the real paranormal investigators, the Warrens.

I’ve seen some people bad mouth these films because they deviate quite a bit from the source material and some people out there don’t like the real-life Ed and Lorraine Warren, so they don’t want anything to do with the movies. However, since the beginning, I’ve always viewed these films as extremely fictional films that are absolutely, in the loosest way possible, based on stories about allegedly real hauntings.

Ed and Lorraine in the movies are almost Catholic superheroes. They’re an unassuming couple that happens to have a basement full of possessed and dangerous relics from their cases. They help families that are dealing with supernatural elements because they feel a need to and that’s another thing that has always appealed to me about these fictionalized versions of Ed and Lorraine Warren as well.

That said, back to the main review.

For me, none of the other films in “The Conjuring Universe” have ever lived up to the original movie, which I feel can now be declared a genuine horror modern day horror classic. I really enjoyed the second film and I even enjoyed “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”, though I can definitely admit that I think it’s the weakest in the series.

I don’t think that “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is as good as either “The Conjuring” and “The Conjuring 2”. It has a slow start and takes a little two long getting the story to gel together even though they do get there. But the important thing is that by the time the credits rolled, I had a good time at the theaters.

If “Last Rites” is to truly be the final film with Wilson and Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine, then I’m satisfied with the final film in a series that helped me remember my love for the horror genre and I definitely recommend that you check it out!