Salvation With Style And Scares

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return one last time as the Warrens in ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites.’

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Conjuring: Last Rites is a fitting title for this final supernatural adventure with Ed and Lorraine Warren. Audiences recoiled from the pair’s last outing in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It like demons faced with a crucifix. As a result, no one can be blamed for approaching this latest entry in the multibillion-dollar franchise with reticence.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the couple who investigate paranormal activity. The Conjuring: Last Rites likely isn’t the last film in the Conjuring Universe, but it rounds out what has been called Phase One; however, it will be the last to feature the Warrens front and centre. The door is being left open for future films, new storylines that explore the broader spooky landscape.

Similar to previous films, The Conjuring: Last Rites is inspired by the real-life experiences of the Smurl family in Pennsylvania, the Warrens’ final case. It’s not the first time the case has been adapted for the screen. In 1991, there was a made-for-television movie called The Haunted, which itself was based on Robert Curran’s book, The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare. It was actually The Haunted that first introduced producer James Wan to the story of the Warrens, leading to him making The Conjuring in 2013.

‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Is A More Personal Story

The narratives of both films are rooted in the same place, as they are based on the same source material and case. Although Last Rites, in franchise fashion, ramps up the intensity, tweaks things, and carves its own intense, creative narrative niche. Here, things turn bad for the Smurl home, and family members start to experience threatening phenomena when the grandparents give a mirror to one of the daughters as a Confirmation gift. It turns out that it holds the very entity behind the terror they are about to experience that also has its eyes set on the Warrens’ daughter, Judy, and has remained focused since the day she was born. This time, it’s personal.

Throughout the movie, though, there is a parallel narrative thread about the Warrens moving on both in their own professional lives, partly due to age and partly to do with changing times, but also in letting go of the protective grip they have had over Judy, who is also able to see and feel supernatural things. Now an adult, she wants to live a full life and settle down, but the entity at the Smurl house has other plans.

Director Michael Chaves is no stranger to helming films in or adjacent to the Conjuring Universe, having previously made The Nun II, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Curse of La Llorona. Hands down, this is his best work in the franchise so far, delivering scares, dramatic gravitas, and emotional weight that serve as a fitting conclusion for the Warrens and this corner of the cinematic universe. Not only does it tick the franchise boxes, it’s not hard to feel the creative presence, intentionally or unintentionally, of such classic horror films of the period, such as The Changeling, The Amityville Horror (another Warren investigation), Poltergeist, and, of course, The Exorcist. There is even a Ghostbusters reference to help flag the misconception of what the Warrens do in the period. Also, shout-outs are due to director Mike Flanagan’s Oculus and Alexandre Aja’s often-overlooked 2008 supernatural horror film Mirrors as both feel like they may have had an influence here.

While The Conjuring: Last Rites doesn’t deliver scare after scare, the bounty of those that are here are effective and innovative, rarely a gimmick. There are several moments of light humor, not comedy, that work surprisingly well and complement the tension nicely. When Chaves incorporates the dramatic, human elements, they land well and help the audience form the most intimate and genuine connections with the Warrens that the franchise has offered. This feels like a family affair that includes the audience in the farewell as guests, not spectators.

The Devil Is In The Details With ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’

One of the film’s greatest tricks doesn’t come from the scares; it’s the fact that it was filmed in the UK and not in Pennsylvania. Knowing some of the locations used having lived there, only one scene in one spot that took me out of it because of a very familiar building that was in the background of a shot, but anyone without that knowledge would have no idea. Chaves and his creative team have done a phenomenal job of making London and Hertfordshire look like Philadelphia. There should also be praise for cinematographer Eli Born, known for Companion, the Hellraiser reboot, and Super Dark Times, who creates depth in the darkness and tension, as well as warmth in the familial elements that are key to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, working so effectively. Kudos, too, to British production designer John Frankish, whose resume includes Chocolat, X-Men: First Class and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, for his work in creating a stylish and rich visual aesthetic that fosters natural immersion in each moment. This could be the best-looking The Conjuring film since the very first one, and the Devil really is in the details.

In a film that has been pretty measured and balanced for the most part, slowly gathering a foreboding momentum, the finale of The Conjuring: Last Rites takes the brakes off and goes for it. The inevitable showdown between the demon, which manifests in various forms during the film, is wild and exhausting, and gives Wilson and Farmiga, as consistent and excellent as always throughout, a powerful performative and emotional last stand. Following the final battle, there is a wedding sequence that features cameo appearances in the congregation from producer, and the director of the first two The Conjuring movies, James Wan, as well as Lili Taylor and Mackenzie Foy from The Conjuring, Frances O’Connor and Madison Wolfe from The Conjuring 2, and Julian Hilliard from The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Again, a nice touch that makes this feel like a proper closing of a book.

The Conjuring: Last Rites is one of the better entries in the cinematic universe that kicked off over a decade ago. Solid performances, a good script, some bold creative choices that pay dividends, and a respect for and recognition of what has got us here, warts and all, mean it delivers all the elements that audiences will want in pretty equal measures. Hopefully, any disillusioned fans will make their peace and turn out to say a final goodbye. They won’t regret it.