The Conjuring: Last Rites

The movie signs off the main series with a decent but decidedly cautious final note. It's noticeably better than Part 3 (The Devil Made Me Do It), which I can barely remember today, but it never reaches the freshness and punch of the first Conjuring. I was entertained, yes, but I was never truly thrilled.

The strength is clearly the characters. After more than a decade with Ed and Lorraine Warren, you're automatically invested, and the film finally leverages that. We see them aging, wrestling with thoughts of retirement, putting their waning fame in perspective, and, most importantly, functioning as a couple. Daughter Judy moves to the center as well, which makes sense given her history with the supernatural. These quiet, personal beats carry the film. I saw the first part in theaters back in 2013; that baseline feeling of "I'm attached to the Warrens" was new and lively then, and here the movie tries to tap into it again as a farewell letter. It works in part. There are also a few nicely composed shots where I briefly thought, "Okay, something creative might happen now."

The strength is clearly the characters. After more than a decade with Ed and Lorraine Warren, you're automatically invested, and the film finally leverages that. We see them aging, wrestling with thoughts of retirement, putting their waning fame in perspective, and-most importantly-functioning as a couple. Daughter Judy moves to the center as well, which makes sense given her history with the supernatural. These quiet, personal beats carry the film. I saw the first part in theaters back in 2013; that baseline feeling of "I'm attached to the Warrens" was new and lively then-and here the movie tries to tap into it again as a farewell letter. It works in part. There are also a few nicely composed shots where I briefly thought, "Okay, something creative might happen now."

But sadly, it stays at "might." On the horror side, the movie runs the well-worn jump-scare template for the umpteenth time: you enter a strangely quiet room, an object isn't where it was, the music swells, then total silence, a prolonged stare, and after the turn into the off-screen space comes the loud BAM. This cycle repeats almost beat-for-beat throughout. It's no longer nerve-racking; it's predictable. Precisely because the camera occasionally offers interesting perspectives, it's frustrating when the staging slides right back into the exhausted "boo!" reflex.

Add to that the inconsistent demon logic in the finale. Throughout, the threat shows real power: trapping people in illusion loops, sealing doors, scrambling orientation and perception, even pushing someone to suicide. But once the endgame begins, the film forgets those abilities. Prime example: Judy is threatened in the attic, the ladder is left down, Ed and Lorraine simply climb up and thwart the whole thing; only afterward does the attic magically lock. That doesn't feel like clever outmaneuvering, it feels like convenient screenwriting. In general, the Warrens enter the last third without a plan, even split up, and only at the very end is the holy text brought in, the same text the demon can destroy at will. Why not earlier? Choices like these undercut the tension. On top of that, possessed characters suddenly "force-push" people and deliver wooden trash talk; it lands as unintentionally goofy rather than threatening.

Story-wise, the haunting is set in a Pennsylvania house, clearly nodding to the Smurl case from the 1980s. The focus is curious: the Warrens only get deeply involved fairly late, which slows the investigative dynamic but does bolster the character focus. And yes, Annabelle shows up again. It's narratively defensible because of Judy, but it still feels like box-ticking. The "hey, I know that!" effect is no substitute for genuine menace, and I'm personally oversaturated with that doll. For what it's worth, the spin-offs The Nun and The Nun 2 blur together for me; this sequel at least does better than those offshoots.

As a character piece about Ed and Lorraine, The Last Rites works surprisingly well and even gives the supposed finale an emotional tint. But as a horror film, it stays formulaic and risk-averse. If you like the series, you'll maybe be decently served and probably leave satisfied.

The conjuring and the conjuring 2 remain some of the best horror films within the last 15 years for my taste. Some would even say the conjuring is one of the top horror films of all time. WAN found his niche within his created conjuring universe with the likes of these films, insidious, and all of the other spin offs. With this has come quite a few more filler movies from other directors that are much less experienced aside from (Whannell) at the helm. Michael Chaves is not a bad director by any means, but this simply does not hold a candle to the first two films or even the last one which was actually decently solid. This one just feels like the most uninteresting of the four and while it has a few decent demonic scares and visuals, it simply does not serve that much of a purpose other than a supposed ending. I actually do not think this will be truly the last of the conjuring films either, though I think it should've ended after the last one. I can think of at least three other films within the universe that aren't even great by any means, but are still more interesting than this. Annabelle Creation, The Nun, and even insidious 4 are all more effective . That's not to say this doesn't have a few redeeming qualities if you're a fan, but if it really was the end, Wan should've ended the Warren's story ...

First off, the based on a true story tagline is like that one friend who tells you that he met a extremely good looking girl and that she was extremely down for him the whole night, but in reality, these two just had a coffee and talked about the economy or smth the whole night, maybe she slightly striped her feet upon his knee or something but... that's it.

These film are overly-exaggerated pieces of HALFWAY real events, and I don't mean that by scenario or concept, I also mean that by performance and cinematography. When you look at a film like The Exorcist from 1973, it roughly cuts fast, it is very slow paced for today's standards, the camera holds itself long, not many effects or anything, the whole horror is made by build-up and performances... it's the simple things. Lightning and Sound-Design are top tier and makes you feel unease. Here, we have so much of it, and it still feels flat. Why? Because they don't know how to CREATE and USE tension. It is a tool to boost emotional development of the characters. It is also a tool to increase our feeling of unease for example. And to anyone who says, The Exorcist was the first film and is hella old, they can't just redo that all the time, you don't get the point.

Veronica, a Spanish horror film, made in I believe 2013, falls into this category of great reality-inspired horror. It is terrifying because it doesn't hold or loses its tension, it does neither of that. It just FLYS by, and what we care for, is her psychological well-being and the survival of his brother. We gotta care, and know that THESE characters aren't safe, these films don't play anymore with psychological fears of the human mind that are deeply rooted in our nature. Recently I watched and film from France, Spoorlos, or The Vanishing. Without context, there's a scene where a character lies in an tomb alive. That was scary and made me feel uneasy, it made me sick for minutes. Same with claustrophobic environments, they just want to scare us with LOUDNESS and unexpected things. And that is the main problem.

There are a few scenes where that feeling gets transported, for example when someone looks around and see's a demon in silent darkness, or when someone suddenly starts to throw up glass and blood, these scenes are great, especially the second one catched me, but that is made by the performances of her and everyone standing beside her.

Conjuring's Final isn't bad by any means, but It is so exaggerated in its simplicity of that makes sense. It's not bigger, it's not more intense, it's just overly-more exaggerated in the way it pays-off its scenario. The actual characters, especially the Main Cast, they deliver well and the chemistry of Lorraine and Ed is again what makes this film halfway good. I just think they're chemistry and love is perfect and felt through every scene of these films, especially in this one.

I enjoy it for what It is, but looking back, the first Conjuring was something that still gave you shivers weeks after watching only by thinking about it...

The jump scares are too predictable as it can be find every where on YouTube. PS too many spoilers ahead on the scary part. I was expecting a better build up on the scares as it was the last chapter of the whole conjuring universe, it was pretty disappointing but overall still love and admire the actors especially Patrick and Vera,their performances are truly incredible as always. The chemistry between them is a never ending story which is truly beautiful.

I just left the cinema, and there's a lot to share. Conjuring: The Last Rite opens really strong-the beginning and build-up are amazing, with a solid story foundation that pulls you in right away. Unfortunately, the ending didn't land for me. The tension and scares were there in parts, but they never fully hit the level I was hoping for. Compared to the first movie, which is still the best in the series for me, this one falls a bit short in delivering lasting chills.

That being said, the cast was great-the actors really carried their roles well and gave strong performances. Overall, it's worth watching if you're a fan of the franchise, but the payoff at the end just didn't match the promise of its opening.