Sadly, despite some genuinely strong elements, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ just doesn’t add up to an articulate whole. Its 135-minute runtime is bloated and overstuffed, and the scares become routine with enough exposure. The acting and craftsmanship do carry the film some distance, but not over the checkered line of satisfying entertainment.
The Conjuring universe is the highest-grossing horror franchise to date. This is partially due to the numerous films in their line-up, including both mainstream entries and spin-offs, but the quality has fluctuated amongst its titles. The first two Conjuring films are great, and Annabelle: Creation is pretty solid too, but the rest range from merely okay to actively bad. The Conjuring: Last Rites, supposedly the final film in this franchise, belongs in the former category, as a general sense of staleness weighs down its better attributes.
Based on a true story (take that statement with several spoonfuls of salt), the film once again depicts the work of infamous investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, brought to life by the ever-charismatic efforts of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. After many decades of investigating paranormal activity, exorcising hundreds of spirits and storing several possessed objects in their home, the Warrens are ready to hang up their hats. With their now adult daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) in a serious relationship with Tony (Ben Hardy), the duo want to look ahead and create something of a normal life together.
Simultaneously, a creepy wooden mirror arrives at the home of the Smurl family in Pennsylvania. A series of ominous events later, it becomes clear that a demonic entity possesses this mirror. Thus, the Warrens, this time with Judy and Tony, are called in for one last job. But the mirror has a chilling connection with the Warren family, making this conclusive investigation one with deeply personal stakes.
On paper, this is a fitting choice for a finale. A classic investigation – based on the notorious Smurl Family Hauntings – with the added dimensions of personal history creates a real sense of urgency and foreboding. However, the script is juggling various plot points at once, unable to find the harmony needed for all of them. On top of the Smurl Family’s plight, you have Judy and Tony’s budding romance, Ed and Lorraine’s search for a normal life, Judy’s connections to demonic spirits, and a look at the complications of paranormal investigation in the face of disbelief. This disrupts the pacing and leaves us wondering where the meat of the story actually is. Ed and Lorraine don’t even make it to the Smurl home until the midpoint, if not later. It’s a film that consists of loosely connected events rather than a streamlined narrative. The fact that three different people wrote the script doesn’t do it any favours either.
This is a pity because The Conjuring films have always had a knack for suspense-building and payoff, skills that are present here too. Its use of shadows is particularly noteworthy, with framed pictures of John Wayne in The Searchers and the glow of a rewound VHS tape becoming nail-biting in the dark. In many setpieces, the film will use the rule of three to generate anticipation – such as when Judy is alone in a room of mirrors. She looks at an empty space and sees nothing three times, yet sees the demon on the fourth. Not only does this create fear through waiting, but because the thing that ultimately jumps out at us is supposed to frighten us, the jump scares, while perhaps too numerous, nonetheless feel earned.
Yet even this dexterous way of creating horror gradually becomes repetitive here. The scares start to become predictable as we grow wise to the techniques the film is using. You still get a sense of atmosphere, but it takes much of the sting out of the scares. Because the Warrens are all but out of the picture for so long, the terror feels more detached than it ought to. It’s impressively crafted, with visceral editing and spooky cinematography (some of the film’s imagery feeling like homages to classics like Carrie, Ringu and The Shining). But it also feels very light when added up.
This isn’t helped by the film’s infrequent but bizarre need to connect to previous entries. Suffering from the symptoms of lesser Marvel movies, the film makes various verbal and visual connections to prior entries. This includes a particularly strange moment where Judy sees the mirror and names Annabelle. Does this mean Annabelle is the spirit, or is it using the memory of Annabelle to terrorise her? If it’s the former, then it goes against what’s been established in the film, and if it’s the latter, then it’s conveyed messily. Moments like this only pop up on occasion, but they feel wholly unnecessary at best and utterly confusing at worst.
Farmiga and Wilson have been the beating heart of these movies since the beginning. Their chemistry has been consistently delightful, and this entry is no different. They imbue their roles with sincere affection, portraying this husband and wife duo as an astute unit whose beliefs, whether in family, God, or the gravity of their work, are as steadfast as their commitment to helping others. Their performances are once again terrific, whether they are wrestling with fear or love, with the efforts of Tomlinson and Hardy also being admirable. Given the heavy focus on Judy’s part in the story, including Lorraine’s constant worry over her, one can see a core theme of mother-daughter bonds, an often-overlooked human connection when it comes to cinema.
Sadly, despite some genuinely strong elements, The Conjuring: Last Rites just doesn’t add up to an articulate whole. Its 135-minute runtime is bloated and overstuffed, and the scares become routine with enough exposure. The acting and craftsmanship do carry the film some distance, but not over the checkered line of satisfying entertainment. The trees are sturdy enough, but the forest feels incomplete, leaving us with a competent but ultimately disappointing movie, especially when compared to the haunting efforts of the earlier Conjuring films. This is supposedly the case that ended it all for the Warrens, according to the posters, yet many may leave the cinema wondering why this was.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is playing in cinemas nationwide from September 5.
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