Directed By Michael Chaves

Starring – Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ben Hardy

The Plot – Paranormal investigators, Ed & Lorraine Warren (Wilson, Farmiga) take on their most disturbing case to date. Jack & Janet Smurl (Elliot Cowan, Rebecca Calder) and their family, move into a brand new home they’ve dreamed of, which turned into a nightmare as their home begins to show signs of demonic infestation.

Rated R for bloody/violent content and terror.

The Conjuring: Last Rites | Official Trailer

POSITIVES

For our fourth and supposedly final excursion alongside Ed and Lorraine Warren, “Last Rites” represents a near return to form in quality for the horror franchise, with Chaves’ evolved direction lending itself more seamlessly this time around than 2021’s “The Devil Made Me Do It”, which was also helmed by him. This time around, the stakes and emotionality of the franchise can be felt unanimously throughout the picture, both within an established conflict that materializes something deeply personal for the Warren’s, but also the vulnerability in the aging constructs of his characters, with Ed’s ongoing heart problems, and Lorraine’s diminishing mental telepathy crafting a series of unforeseen challenges for this dynamic duo, each with their own sense of investment from the audience, on account of the ample time that Chaves spends once more towards vividly fleshing each of them out. By the fourth film with these characters, very little new untold information can be effectively accessed, however Chaves invests just as much time outside of the paranormal world, with the duo interacting with friends at a barbeque, and a newfound love interest for their daughter, in order to flesh out their humanity and likeability as characters, and between the charismatic turns from Farmiga and Wilson stepping back seamlessly once again into the depth of their respective roles, and hospitality that they exude towards those surrounding them, there’s a real charming essence to these characters that makes them feel invaluable to the franchise’s foundation, articulating these tensely riveting and investing sequences that flourish with frenzy, as a result of the undeterred growth that we’ve witnessed in them throughout nearly fifteen years of cinema. On top of this, the subtleties in the production design here effectively articulate authenticity within the 1986 setting of the film, with wardrobe, set decoration and even cinematography playing towards the vivid familiarity of the period, in ways that allows the production ample opportunity to flourish artistic merit behind every shot. What I appreciate is that this isn’t just image pornography, with hastily obvious methods of product placement and song selections in the soundtrack from the depicted age, instead surmising synthetic examples of aspects that bleed naturally into the canvas of what’s captured, and while this isn’t necessarily a movie that ever feels overly dependent on appearances, it’s nice to see Chaves and his crew properly engage with the essence of the era, without a single noticeable hinderance to detract the consistency of what’s assembled. It’s also a movie that legitimately feels like a final chapter to both the series and these characters, not only with the magnitude of risk to what the Warren’s are dealing with, but also the fully fledged finality of the storytelling, which could result in hardcore enthusiasts of the series fighting back tears during the film’s tender closing moments. Without spoiling anything integrally, I was very thankful that there were no teases of a forthcoming installment, nor were there even the sparsest subplots lacking resolution in the execution of its most pivotal moments, and it’s just kind of refreshing to see a series stand by their very word, especially considering the post-movie on-screen text conveys everything that happened to them for the rest of their lives outside of the public eye, closing out what might very well be the best horror franchise of the 21st century, in terms of consistency and overall expansion. However, all of this pales in comparison to the franchise’s single greatest aspect, that being the remarkable performances from both Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who exude so much stirring soul and radiant chemistry to the designs of characters who feel engrossingly engaging to the audience. Farmiga’s affectionate sincerity is complimented endlessly by Wilson’s unblinking stoicism, with the two delightfully engaging in effortless rapport of interactions that equally brandish the love and honesty between their tender dynamic, all the while inspiring the best in the other actor in ways that transcend the fictionality of the screen into the naturalism of real life.

NEGATIVES

While “Last Rites” is definitely an improvement from the third chapter in the Warren saga, it’s still a far cry from the original two Conjuring movies, as a result of some unfortunate detractors that take away the frights and thrills of the movie’s truest intentions. This is not to say that the movie’s material won’t effectively translate to audiences, particularly those who find themselves unsettled by random imagery or empowering situations, it’s just that James Wan’s presence is still missed in jumping jolts and unbridled tension that lacks any semblance of nuance to their outlining, making the frights in the film feel like any contemporary mainstream horror film that refuses to inspire originality or unpredictability to so many of its sequences. Chaves’ direction is definitely improved with experience, but it still lacks any of the underlining atmosphere that made the first two movies sizzle with the speculation of the reveling darkness, and the result is a film that entertains more than it chills its investing audience. In addition to this, the film feels a bit overly long at 130 minutes of its runtime, particularly with some opening act pacing in the prolonging of certain scenes that conflicted directly with the materializing to the plot that takes a bit longer to establishing than I would’ve liked. While I definitely appreciate that the script is taking ample time to flesh out not only the Warren’s arc, but also the Smurl family’s, at least during the movie’s opening half, I feel like so many of these initial scenes could be trimmed or condensed to maintain the essence of the aura, while articulating the helplessness of the situation that it seeks, but instead it relies on an abundance of patience that doesn’t always involve the most scintillating of storytelling, leaving the rest of the film fighting uphill, from an opening act that feels like it stands around a bit longer than anticipated. Speaking of the Smurl family, one thing that I’ve always appreciated about The Conjuring universe is how it illustrates the victims with commitment and candor, and while the first half here did a great job at conveying the distrust and overall disconnect of the established environment, I feel like these supporting characters are ultimately sacrificed once the Warren’s invade their territory. This can kind of be expected, considering it’s a movie centering around the Warren’s, but I think the script doesn’t value the Smurl’s as much as it should, especially considering that it’s through their eyes where the palpable vulnerability lies, and I wish Chaves could’ve balanced that depiction all the more evenly during the film’s climactic third act, especially with the resolving shot near the movie’s ending showcasing them in the streets, far away from the conflict, while it’s ultimately the Warren’s who are getting their hands dirty. Finally, much of the production’s technical matters influence the artistry of the presentation, but I found too much reliance on C.G motions to stand out like the sorest of thumbs to the capture, resulting in these unintentionally laughable orchestrations that were distracting to say the least. This is thankfully only an aspect of an antagonist spending more than a jump scare on screen, which is rare, but it does require forgiveness for such a big studio backed project, especially in the confines of the film’s biggest individualized pay-offs, where not even scenes enveloped by darkness can effectively evade the artificial transparency of what’s artistically mustered.

OVERALL
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” might fail to reach the thrilling highs of the franchise’s earliest installments, but it still represents an entertainingly engaging and emphatically articulated goodbye to Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are once again brought to life with such impeccable chemistry in the performances of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, respectively. While the thrills revel in spontaneity rather than synergy, with a complete lack of atmosphere across two hours to drive long-winded anticipation, the fourth installment of this saga is made with the love and appreciation of its longtime enthusiasts in mind, serving as a graceful farewell to a franchise that haunts its longtime enthusiasts

My Grade: 6.8 or C+