Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 15 minutes, Director – Michael Chaves
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren are brought out of semi-retirement to take on one more case, involving a haunted item from their past terrorising a family home.
I’ve referred to the Conjuring franchise, and its various spin-offs, as horror movie cliché bingo on a number of occasions. Even more frequently I’ve criticised the ‘quiet, quiet, Bang!’ style of scares which have defined the franchise. Yet, when it came to the last instalment in the main series focusing on fighters of the paranormal Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren, The Devil Made Me Do It, I found a film that clicked with me more than the others – and I don’t think because of the still-under-restrictions COVID era where new big releases continued to be somewhat scarce.
Last Rites, the fourth and apparently final instalment of the main Conjuring films, claims to depict the toughest, most life-changing case ever faced by the Warrens. One which would unexpectedly span over 20 years and call back to their past. Having semi-retired, now going around colleges giving talks about their experiences with the paranormal to bored students who want to know if they’re like the Ghostbusters. However, when it seems that they could be the only people to rid the house of the Smurl family of demons they turn up to do whatever they can.
The point at which they arrive is likely closer to 90-minutes into the film rather than 60. The Warren’s past, current life with daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) introducing her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) and the growing fear of the Smurl family after the introduction of a mirror to their household as a confirmation present for daughter Heather (Kila Lord Cassidy) all construct the various point built-up before the horror properly kicks off. There are some intended creepy scenes, largely involving the Smurl family, but much of what we see is more showing the Warrens life and distance away from the lives they once led, especially in the wake of Ed’s heart problems.
Yet, when the horror does start to kick off more frequently it all feels rather abrupt. A rushed set of sequences which hammer away at the aforementioned quiet, quiet, Bang! style which so easily leads to predictable attempts at scares. In total throughout the film’s 135-minute run-time I found only one effective scare, involving a sudden movement from Annabelle before the moment shifts into something more ridiculous.
What dampens the horror further once the Warrens and Smurls team-up to take on the possessed mirror causing the chaos in the house is the fact that for something that is meant to be the couple’s toughest and most personal case ever it all seems to be tackled with little strain from or pressure on them. The difficulty doesn’t feel cranked up at all, yet the opening and closing text pushes the fact that this was the case that caused them to stop this kind of work altogether. The noise is ramped up with screaming, shouting, clattering, thudding and the rising score, but none succeed in raising the fear factor or tension. The main feeling I got from the film was boredom as the same formula was once again being repeated. However, while this does seem to be a final outing for Wilson and Farmiga as the Warrens, whether that’s repeated for the last time for this franchise, as claimed, remains to be seen.
Another case of predictable scares for the Warrens pushes the feeling that, despite how often we’re told it is, this is far from the couple’s toughest case. As the horror sequences start to repeat boredom settles in more than it did in the lengthy build-up.
Just A Little Bit Random 