Ed and Lorraine Warren return to our screens for one last outing in the case that is said to have ended it all. Last Rights is the 10th film in The Conjuring series and promises a fitting end for the paranormal field’s most polarising characters. Returning to once again battle with demonic forces are Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as titular characters this time though joined by Mia Tomlinson who steps into the role of the Warrens adult daughter Judy with Ben Hardy taking the reins of her boyfriend Tony Spera.
The Conjuring: Last Rights aims to tell the true story of the Smurl family haunting. A frightening and well documented case of demonic activity that still captures the minds of paranormal investigators to this day.
This movie opens in the 1960’s with much younger Warrens and a very pregnant Lorraine investigating their first ever haunting. When the entity they are hunting fights back pushing Lorraine into an early labour the couple are forced to make a mad dash to the nearest hospital. With a storm booming overhead and rain making it near on impossible to keep the car on the road the couple arrives only for the power to go out mid delivery for one of the most tense and horrifying openings in recent cinema. The evil has followed the Warrens and it is their sheer will of faith that saves them.
Fast forward to 1986 and the Warrens have settled into life after investigations and helping people. Ed, though visibly restless, has accepted his limitations as he and Lorraine look to other avenues to share their gifts and stories with the world. Judy starting out in her own life is still trying to push her gifts to the side with the help of her mother, to varying degrees of success, has recently met and fallen madly in love with ex police officer Tony Spera and looks to bring him to the next family gathering.
This time out The Conjuring: Last Rights focuses more on the Warrens as a family unit then it does on the haunting elements looking to show them as a loving every day family despite their chosen vocation. It does this really well despite some generic writing choices that flow into other parts of the film and highlight some stale elements that have crept into the Conjuring universe. There are some truly heartwarming parts despite this, due to the characters being so likable and makes them seem more grounded in reality despite the film’s premise.
Outside of the family elements we have a fairly stock standard jump scare horror movie that follows a very similar plot to what we saw in the first two Conjuring titles.
The Smurl family are beginning to experience some frightening goings on in their suburban 2 story home they share amongst the eight of them. The activity starts small with strange noises and a baby doll toy that needs to be drop-kicked through a window but quickly escalates into a full blown battle for survival.
Director Michael Chaves is once again at the helm and continues to ply his trade in a style familiar to fans of the Conjuring universe. Tension is well set up with drawn out pause causing your eyes to dart around the screen looking for where the jump scare is coming from and a continual sense of dread is present throughout the time in the Smurl family home. While Chavas does well with creating tension and a general sense of unease, the similarities he carries from previous entries means the scares are projected a little more often than not taking you out of the moment and stopping that fear response we go to a good horror movie for.
I am torn with my feeling for The Conjuring: Last Rights, there was a real sense of missed opportunity once the credits rolled of the opportunity to send the Warrens out with a final battle against what was arguably their most diabolical case. The Smurl family haunting is well known to be one of the most intense and violent cases of demonic interference in recent history and one the Warrens and Smurls wrote extensively about. Unfortunately we simply didn’t get enough time with the haunting to fully experience the horror that the family went through. Previously we have had some disturbingly frightening monsters to fear while pushing for good to win the day but in what could have been their biggest outing yet, the Warrens were left to go up against some angry spirits yes but the overarching demonic theme that was apparently pulling the strings was never investigated.
The Conjuring: Last Rights may be the weakest in the series but it is still a decent horror flick that gives you enough unease to get the blood pumping. If you are someone that knows about the Warrens and the Smurl case in particular you will rue the missed opportunity for so much more. Delving into the life of Ed, Lorraine and Judy more so had some truly beautiful moments and above all else was a fitting goodbye to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga who have brought these larger than life characters to a wider audience and in turn earned themselves a significant place in horror pop culture.
The Conjuring: Last Rights is in cinemas everywhere today. If horror is your thing this one needs to be experienced in the dark on the biggest loudest screen you can find.
