The Conjuring: Last Rites

The Conjuring: Last Rites is said to bring the movie franchise to a close the way this case did for the actual Warrens. This is the fourth Conjuring movie with the first – and scariest IMO – coming out in 2013. For the last decade we have also seen many spin off films as well. Characters that will live on in our nightmares including Annabelle, La Llorona, and The Nun. Ten films in all to make up one of the better horror franchises ever; even with some of the missteps along the way.

Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront. | 2h 15m | Rated R for bloody/violent content and terror

One thing that makes the Conjuring universe so scary is that the films are taken from actual cases and families that Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren worked with. Each time we get real life audio and images from the people involved. Unlike Freddy, Jason, or Michael, these entities are real and horrifying.

After the dud that was The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) there was nowhere but up to go with this one. If “up” includes terrifying images, ghosts, creepy dolls, and enough jump scares to start the deadest heart; this one reached the top. Director Michael Chaves pulled out all the stops and made sure that no curse was left unturned. If it all really does stop here, we can leave satisfied.

Last Rights starts in the early 60s with a very pregnant Lorraine. She and Ed are new at the demon game and run into a very nasty entity. Flash forward to the mid 80s and they are now at the end of their career. Thought of more as Ghostbusters than legit phenom hunters it might be time to hang up the holy water and retire. When one last case threatens friends and family they have no other recourse than to risk it all one more time.

Though based on real cases it is not told how much was borrowed from other cases or fictionalized to make one complete scary film. There is no doubt that Annabelle is the most memorable and evil part of the Conjuring world. She/It is woven into this story line as well. Whether for the enjoyment – and thrills – of audiences or because she really did raise her evil head during this case is unclear. What is clear is that she is always terrifying.

What brings the Warrens out of semi retirement is the Smurl family from Pennsylvania. Some may remember that this family and their story was dramatized in the 1991 TV movie The Haunted. When the family with four girls brings home a vintage antique mirror all hell breaks loose, literally. Each family member is in some way effected by this demon. They get no help from the church, and with no social media in the late 80’s they seem destined to live with the horror. When a friend of the Warren’s comes to the aid of the Smurl family it is discovered that this ghost and the Warren’s have met before.

This one also has some sweet and often funny family moments as we meet Ed and Lorrain’s daughter Judy’s (Mia Tomlinson) new boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy). Tony has heard a little about the Warrens but is in no way ready for what is coming. To be honest though he may be the most scared of Judy’s father Ed’ who is not keen on any boy wooing his daughter.

Fact or fiction we go to these films to be scared. To sit on the edge of our seat knowing that some face or creature will pop up at any time. We can’t help but delight in the loud noises and ghastly shadows. As the Smurl home becomes a tempest of destruction the Warrens fight to keep themselves and everyone else alive.

There will more than likely be additional films from this Conjuring Universe, but none with the actual Warrens. As with all franchises my hope always is that we get quality over quantity.