The Conjuring: Last Rites

After a lifetime watching horror movies, I’ve come up with a few rules based on my observations. The first and most important one is: Nothing good ever happens in a basement. A subset to that rule is: Not as emphatic, but also skip the attic. I’d include a sub-subset, but I’ll let people figure out the pros and cons of crawlspaces for themselves. Here to demonstrate my points for me is The Conjuring: Last Rites, in which spooky stuff goes down in both said sinister spaces. I have heretofore mildly enjoyed the Conjuring films (much less so the Nun and Annabelle offshoots), of which the first entry (which boasted the classic clap sequence) and this current movie are the best of the bunch. Last Rites satisfyingly wraps up the story of the Warrens, although with the surprisingly large opening weekend box office returns, these rites may not be the last of anything.

The story begins in a flashback to 1964, in which young paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are (literally) looking into a haunted mirror. Lorraine makes the rookie mistake of touching it and sees a vision of a demonic entity. The pregnant Lorraine goes into labor, giving birth to a stillborn daughter, Judy. Lorraine is very good at praying, however, and Judy comes back to life after a minute. The chastened Warrens go about their life, raising their kid, and never mess with the supernatural world again. 

Except of course that last sentence is untrue and the Warrens make a career out of their interest in the paranormal, helping many people, and we jump to 1986. Ed (Patrick Wilson) has retired from active duty due to heart trouble, so he and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) mainly lecture now to diminishing audiences. Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is an adult now, with a boyfriend, Tony (Ben Hardy), and supernatural visions like her mother. All would be both hunky and dory, except one day a priest friend informs them that a family in Pennsylvania have requested their help with a spot of bother: your standard poltergeist-like moving furniture stuff, lights falling from the ceiling, levitations and vomiting up shards of glass. The usual. The Warrens demur, but young Judy is full of idealism and convinces/entraps her folks into getting involved. When they all realize the source of this haunting is that mirror from 1964, the only case that Warrens left unfinished, the stage is set for big-time demonic mumbo-jumbo and character arc resolution that maybe nobody but Hollywood producers realized we all needed.

Wilson is very good as the dependable Ed, but he has some more fun with the role here as he gets to give Judy’s boyfriend some Papa Bear glares and growls. Farmiga acquits herself well as always, but she doesn’t get much new to work with in this story. Tomlinson brings a fresh energy to the series, and she gets to display many different aspects of her talent here. Hardy is fun as a new possible addition to the imposing Warren family, and he makes much of his character’s apprehension.

Director Michael Chaves does an impressive job of balancing the scares and the family drama, making the movie seem perhaps a bit more meaningful than it really is. There are fright scenes aplenty, but two of the most memorable include a baby doll standing up and a very effective hallway cameo from a character who has nothing at all to do with this particular story. John Frankish’s production design is quite good, ably demonstrating the 1980s impinging upon the more old-fashioned Warrens. 

Screenwriters Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick manage to keep all the franchise balls up in the air (this is the ninth “Conjuring Universe” film in twelve years – there’s a lot of continuity to keep track of) and still provide an entertaining story with a sense of closure. Sure, the main plot here is somewhat familiar to Mike Flanagan’s early cursed mirror film, Oculus, (and if you haven’t seen that movie, remedy that situation immediately) but Last Rites works effectively as its own thing. One thing that bothered me a little bit was that in this world, God only seems to favor the faith/prayers of the Warrens – everyone else’s comes short for some unknown reason. 

I had middling expectations for this film, and it exceeded them. I have also seen thousands of horror films and am jaded and thus probably not the ideal audience member for this franchise. Most audience members will likely enjoy The Conjuring: Last Rites a bit more than me, and I did actually enjoy it.