RIOTUS

The Conjuring franchise and universe were never something I was interested in. I was a bit shocked at how this one supernatural horror movie based on real people just spun off not only sequels but spin-offs that had their own sequels. Other than The Fast and Furious, it felt like the only modern super franchise outside the superhero movies was this spooky series headed by James Wan. Starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren, the paranormal investigators who put paranormal events on the map in the US consciousness. In this film, The Conjuring: Last Rites, the goal is to wrap up the universe (I guess) and tie the series all together with cameos and easter eggs from the earlier films.

The film starts with Ed and Lorranie on an early case while Lorranie is pregnant, and this case goes very poorly as their paranormal foe completely outmatches them. Causing issues with their daughter’s birth, Judy, and over the years. Lorranie teaches Judy (Mia Tomlinson) to suppress her clairvoyance to protect her from the life she’s led. Ed and Lorranie deal with possible retirement and their daughter’s adulthood, and boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy). At the same time, the Smurl family in Pennsylvania has their house possessed by the demonic presence that the Warrens faced twenty-two years prior.

The film, directed by Michael Chaves, who, with this, directed three entries in The Conjuring universe, did a great job with the film here. Seeing this film in the full IMAX theater with willing and open fans of horror and this franchise made a big impact on my enjoyment of the film. Every jump scare worked in the theater, and that takes skill. The reveals worked well with the pacing of the film and were actually jarring. Kudos to the editors Gregory Plotkin and Elliot Greenberg on this. Wilson is great as Ed, with this version being older and getting worn down. The film and the performance play well with the tension of what might happen to him by the end of the film.

The screenwriters Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick did a good job at making this last adventure feel like an ending while watching it. The script also leaves things with the right amount of openness that they could do something more in this universe, and that I appreciated because it wasn’t heavy-handed. The story never felt that unbelievable or unintentionally humorous. Not being a big fan or follower, the film is also, at its core, a very religious film and story. The nature of faith overcoming evil, along with the solid filmmaking, had me wondering why actual “religious” movies are usually not so good. Still, these films, which I feel are seen as secular, are actually good.

That might be something worth exploring later with some examples and longer thoughts, but I’m not doing it here. All that being said, if this movie had me thinking this much, along with being entertained by not only the film but the audience I saw it with, then this should be something worth seeing. The Conjuring: Last Rites ended up being a great finale film and an excellent send-off for its two stars, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. It also does well at turning these controversial real-life figures into an entertaining modern myth.