The Conjuring: Last Rites brings us back into the world of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Sleek and well-paced, the film stands as a strong visual entry in the horror franchise, but, instead of unleashing the franchise’s signature nightmare fuel, it settles for a final, lingering chill.
The Conjuring: Last Rites: SYNOPSIS
We first rejoin Lorraine and Ed as they have settled into a quiet retirement. It's nice to see how they've developed as ordinary humans, now mostly forgotten.
They hold seminars and are often treated as jokes, a far cry from their past heroic exploits.
Ed's heart condition has also forced them to slow down, relishing in the important moments with their daughter, Judy, and the friends who care for them.
But their peaceful life is disrupted when Judy becomes connected to a new haunting, putting her life in danger.
Running parallel to the Warrens’ story is that of the Smurl family, which is haunted by a demon hiding inside an antique mirror.
Their arc delivers some truly creepy moments and a few solid jump scares that are sure to rattle viewers.
Still, the constant back-and-forth between the two plots ends up feeling a bit disjointed.
Just as one side builds tension, the other story seems to kill it off.
This uneven development extends to the characters, too, as the Smurl family’s personal stories get forgotten once the Warrens step in.
The film's structural issues could be resolved with better scene placement.
While its two-hour-plus runtime is surprisingly well-paced and never feels overlong, the movie could be much tighter if scenes with too much exposition were trimmed.
There are so many scenes where a character mentions a scary thing that can happen, and then that scary thing happens a few scenes later.
This telegraphing of scares makes the experience feel a bit predictable.
More broadly, the film lacks the genuine sense of danger that defined earlier entries in the series. The central characters seem to have impenetrable plot armor.
The Smurl family also feels largely safe. Though a death occurs on their side, the event is frustratingly off-screen.
Showing this moment would have significantly raised the stakes and the film's overall impact.
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The Conjuring: Last Rites Cast
As always, Vera Farmiga as Lorraine and Patrick Wilson as Ed are as compelling as ever.
Their presence fills the screen and they bring a comfortable gravity to their roles.
Mia Tomlinson, as Judy, does her best to keep up but still lacks the gravitas of the two leads.
Hopefully, she’ll grow into the role, especially if she and her partner, played by Ben Hardy, are being set up to take the reins in future installments.
Ultimately, while Last Rites offers a decent scares and a captivating return for the main characters, it's a film that never quite reaches the chilling heights of the original movies.
The franchise’s once-potent sense of dread now feels like a familiar formula that's less a terrifying experience and more of a predictable, and ultimately safe, ride.
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