‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Review: A Melancholic Farewell for Ed and Lorraine Warren
After twelve years, the time has come to say goodbye to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s iconic portrayals of the controversial “exorcists” Ed and Lorraine Warren. And what better way to bid adieu to their performances than in a melancholic finale that… sits with the protagonists as they contemplate whether they should embark on the next chapter of their lives??? Damn, I didn’t think The Conjuring: Last Rites would cut this deep, because the brand of films that were initially developed by James Wan, which expanded into endless cash-grab spinoffs, are usually reliant on creating tangible frights that make the audience not want to turn their light off as they sleep at night, not be surprisingly meditative, even poetic?
The Conjuring: Last Rites reflective moments win out over the scary
But these are the best parts of Michael Chaves’ fourth entry in the mainline Conjuring movies, and not the “scary stuff” that occurs in this 135-minute horror flick. There are a few effective set pieces, most of which were shot for IMAX, but the vast majority of the scares are as pedestrian as Chaves’ previous attempts at shocking audiences in his earlier horror directing efforts. The only notable aesthetic flourish that genuinely sets this movie apart from the terrible The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is its smart employment of second screens, either through a scuzzy VHS camera whose footage is barely perceptible or in the microscopic examination of a tape that may or may not show a demonic entity preying on the Smurls. They are a family of devout Christians who had their life turned upside down after they believed a demon was haunting their home and was wreaking havoc in their peaceful life.
The tape scene may be the movie’s scariest, not because it relies on cheap jump scares, as most of Chaves’ oeuvre is comprised of, but because of the lived-in atmosphere it creates through the constant rewinds, playbacks, and zooms on the television as Heather Smurl (Kíla Lord Cassidy) examines whether or not a demon is living in their house. The pause on the demon is the most effective image of the entire picture, one that should’ve been at the center of the plot where Ed and Lorraine help the family out, in a case so devastating it permanently put an end to their demon-hunting activities for good.
Sadly, Chaves doesn’t spend enough time with the Smurls to help us form a connection to them, even when Ed, Lorraine, their daughter Judy (wonderfully played by Mia Tomlinson), and her fiancé Tony (Ben Hardy) arrive at their home to get rid of the demon. It’s the least developed—and interesting—part of the picture, regardless of the surprisingly elaborate visual flourishes here and there that make some of its set pieces feel somewhat interesting. That said, Chaves is no James Wan, and his inability to direct scares worthy of the big screen treatment is more than apparent when crafting large-scale sequences that, despite the Kaiju-sized Annabelle on display and an efficient, but minimal, use of the IMAX format, don’t feel all that impressive.
Dull scares saved by a profoundly human drama at its core
Where he excels the most is in the lengthy, almost lethargically paced first half, where writers Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick actively sit and ruminate with the Warrens as they wonder if the life they’re living is worth it. Ed is suffering from heart problems, which isn’t good for his line of work, while Lorraine is concerned that they are putting their family at risk, especially after Tony proposed to Judy.
This “life’s like a chapter; there’s nothing wrong when one ends and another begins” aspect of The Conjuring: Last Rites is where the movie actively works in its favor, even if it contains none of the hallmarks that paying audiences want to see. Melancholic montages, almost Terrence Malick-esque in their poetry, of Ed and Lorraine raising Judy as they realize what’s most important in their lives could bring a tear to your eye. They’re so earnestly captured and achingly moving that it’s hard not to be swept away by their profoundly human core: the good, the bad, and the surprises that their mundane existence has in store for them.
There’s one particular scene that encapsulates the movie’s entire thesis, and it’s where Tony proposes to Judy. The reaction shot of Ed encapsulates a bevy of emotions—shocked, almost bewildered, yes, not by the proposal, but by the trajectory of their lives. Is being sent to an early grave by their activities worth it if they are unable to enjoy what’s most important in their life? Wilson’s performance in this moment is subtle. However, it represents such a shift in how he portrayed the character up until that point that its swift change automatically hits you like a thousand bricks, even if you may not have been crazy about the previous Conjuring films not directed by James Wan.
It’s not at all what I was expecting from a Conjuring installment, but it forces the audience to reckon with a franchise in its final hour, awaiting its ultimate curtain call. Many of them are not ready to say goodbye, nor is Warner Bros., which has already confirmed a television series is in development. However, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are certainly looking forward to embarking on the next chapter of their careers. When that realization occurs, the emotional apex may hit you hard, because their performances have always been the highlight of the entire franchise.
Final thoughts on The Conjuring: Last Rites
What people have come to see in The Conjuring: Last Rites are the weakest parts of the film. Yet, what audiences are uninterested in the most is what profoundly moved me this time around, and it didn’t need much pull from its actors to give actively emotional turns as they bid farewell to characters they carried for over a decade. When the movie ultimately ends with a scene similar to the one in Avengers: Endgame, where the supporting characters from many of its installments—past and present—reunite in a communal setting, it’s hard not to be at least touched by what Chaves stages here. Regardless if most of the spinoffs were worthless cash grabs, there’s something so sincere about how Last Rites concluded that, no matter how unscary this installment is, no bone in my body can actively hate it as I did The Devil Made Me Do It.
I may not remember ever seeing Last Rites in a few years from now, but as it stands, the movie is emotional enough in places where it should be that I did somewhat get emotional by the end. The first Conjuring was a foundational gateway in my exploration of horror and remains, to this day, one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Wan never lived up to the first, but by the final scene of Last Rites, it almost doesn’t matter. I had a pretty good cry, and you might do the same too.
Also check out: Review: The First Omen Is The Perfect Horror Prequel
