Film Review: The Conjuring: Last Rites

Director: Michael Chaves

Genre: Horror

Format: Streaming

Purchase Link: Available on HBOMax

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the fourth installment in the Conjuring series following Ed and Lorraine Warren as they investigate paranormal hauntings across the globe. This installment shifts focus to their daughter, Judy, who after years of being in the background of these movies, is now tormented by her own haunting. At the same time, the Warrens are called to investigate paranormal phenomena that has impacted a family in Pennsylvania.

Most Conjuring movies have the same feel and setup. They’ve found a formula that works, and it continues to be effective in this installment. We know what to expect by now – the attention to detail within the wardrobe and set design, the large family group banding together, the dog that notices signs of possession before anyone else, many effective jump scares, a prevailing sense of unease, and Ed and Lorraine’s wonderful chemistry. Mirrors are used, as they have in past movies, as a means of bringing the invisible to light.

I loved the camera work, especially the movements that show when Lorraine is feeling or seeing something supernatural. There’s a great scene in the beginning of the movie where Lorraine, Ed, and Judy are at a restaurant. Lorraine hears the whisper of a spirit sneaking up on her, and the camera pans around her face in a circle to show a decaying hand retreating from Judy’s shoulder in the background. The pace of this movie is slower than the first and third Conjuring movies, with a runtime of 135 minutes, which works well. We build the tension and connection to our characters, especially Judy, more slowly and more effectively this way. The tone is much darker in this movie than in previous ones, as well.

What was most compelling to me was the prevailing hauntedness of watching something come to an end. Not only does the movie chronicle the end of Ed and Lorraine’s work, it also chronicles the end of the Conjuring series as we know it, which is the work of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the titular characters. They have made the series what it is, and now there is a sense of stepping back and passing the torch to Judy and her boyfriend for any future movies.

Vera Farmiga is – as always – the highlight of the movie for me. She is no longer the playful, girlish Lorraine that she was at the beginning of the series. She has matured into someone who is far more haunted by her work than the Lorraine of the first three movies. While we can see glimpses of the person she once was, she is now more cautious, reserved, and sad.

The ending was somewhat anticlimactic and not well acted. It felt underdeveloped, lethargic, and a little cheesy for what I wanted. Another complaint is the lighting, which was terrible. You have to watch this movie in almost complete darkness to be able to see everything. With cost-cutting measures, the lighting quality in many has diminished, and Last Rites is no exception. I will also give a trigger warning for violence against an animal, although it is brief and very clearly not real.

Overall, this is a fine add to the Conjuring series. For the last of Farmiga and Wilson, I wish we could’ve gotten more. Still, I give it 3/5 stars.

Review By Chelsea Catherine
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