“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is a joke
In 2013 “The Conjuring,” a supernatural horror film directed by James Wan was released in theaters. With an exceptionally well outcome, earning more than $319 million worldwide, the film was praised for its well-crafted approach at suspense and jumpscares. It was also the first horror film to ever earn an “A” from CinemaScore.
The main “Conjuring” series makes up four movies in total, with the latest installment, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” concluding the franchise.
I have always been scared of horror movies, being the type of person to look away from the screen, cover my eyes, or flinch at jumpscares. When I was about fourteen, I decided to watch “The Conjuring” for the first time. It scared the shit out of me to be frank, especially with the notion of it being based on a true story. Ironically, it is now a comfort movie of mine that I rewatch every so often.
The story follows the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren as they investigate the Perron family’s secluded farmhouse, where a dark entity has latched onto the family of 7. Carolyn Perron, the wife of Roger, wakes up every morning with new bruises covering her entire body. Then, Sadie, the family dog, is found dead in the yard.
During the initial investigation, Lorraine discovers that an accused witch and Satanist named Bathsheba Sherman, a woman who sacrificed her week-old baby to the devil and killed herself in 1863, cursed the land. Since then, multiple reports of suicides and murders came throughout the years in the houses that had been built on the land. The movie ends with Ed successfully performing an exorcism on Carolyn after Bathsheba takes full possession of her body. Lorraine is able to reach Carolyn through the possession by reminding her of her family.
Maybe it’s nostalgia and a bit of bias, but I truly do think that the first “Conjuring” film will forever be more iconic than its counterparts. I have tried to watch “The Conjuring 2” and “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” and while they are solid films from a general standpoint, they didn’t have the same level of anticipation, fear, or anxiety for me. When I saw the trailer for “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” it did actually peak my interest, especially with it being the final mainline film of the franchise.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites" had a budget of $55 million and earned $403 million at the box office. Although when it comes to ratings, “The Conjuring” stands at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes— “Last Rites”, with a 31.4% decrease, standing at 59%.
In “Last Rites” the movie starts off with a flashback to 1964, when Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated a haunted mirror at an antique shop. Lorraine collapses after witnessing a vision of her unborn child, forcing her into labor. She gives birth and for around a minute, Judy, their daughter, is stillborn. To me, the most interesting part of this scene was when Lorraine began profusely praying to God to bring her baby back. She pleaded, cried, and suddenly, Lorraine’s prayers brought back her child.
With a 22 year time skip, the Smurl family moves to a small suburb of Pennsylvania. It’s a full house– Jack and Janet Smurl share their home with Jack’s parents, a big golden retriever, and their four daughters. After Heather's (their daughter) confirmation ceremony, her grandparents give her the haunted mirror.
In the beginning of the movie, it’s explained that Ed has a worsening heart condition, that being the main reason the Warrens retired from their investigations. They continue to give lectures at colleges but the rooms are primarily empty, and the few students attending usually cracking jokes or referring to the Warrens as “ghostbusters.” In “Last Rites,” Judy, their daughter, is a prominent character who has become increasingly sensitive to her psychic visions. At dinner, she has an episode and begins to panic; the only thing calming her down being a rhyme that was created when she was younger. “Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it, Not a penny was there in it, Only ribbon round it.” (Which, fun fact, is an actual nursery rhyme from the 1800s.)
During the dinner scene, when she begins to panic, a mysterious hand glides down Judy's shoulder and back. It was supposed to be a scary moment, showing that some sort of spirit was clearly attached to her, but it looked ridiculous to me. I saw “Last Rites” twice in theaters, and the second time I watched it, I quietly laughed.
Heather and her sister try to dispose of the mirror, which I honestly don’t blame them for, because the mirror Heather was given is really… well. Ugly. It’s ugly. First of all, it's ginormous, with three distinct faces gracing the top, and very dramatic decals surrounding the entire thing. I don’t really understand why her grandparents would give that to her as a confirmation gift in the first place, especially when the glass is cracked entirely in the center of the mirror. Even after the mirror is disposed of, the family continues to be haunted by three spirits: An elderly woman, a tall, creepy man with an axe, and a younger woman.
When the mirror is first taken by the trash truck, Dawn, Heather's sister, starts to throw up all over the table as the glass from the mirror gets crushed by the truck. Her normal, already disgusting bile gets even more disturbing when she starts throwing up glass and blood everywhere. I know this was put in as a shock factor and to show that even after disposing of the mirror, the spirits are now attached to the Smurls, but it’s never mentioned again throughout the movie. Later, in the film, Dawn yells at her father, telling him they need to move or stay in a motel and that no one is taking the hauntings seriously, but the vomit is not mentioned. I don’t think Ed or Lorraine found out about it either— I don’t get why the moment was added in the first place if it wasn’t going to be relevant later on.
After the Smurls share their story with the press, it gains the attention of Father Gordon, someone who worked closely with the Warrens on previous investigations. At Ed’s birthday party, Father Gordon tries to gain the help of the Warrens, but is unsuccessful. He goes to the Diocese of Scranton instead, seeking to gain help for the Smurl family. Instead, he dies. A demon attacks him and causes him to hang himself inside the building. At his funeral, Judy has a vision and decides to travel to Pennsylvania to investigate secretly.
Before Judy headed to Pennsylvania, she went to try on wedding dresses with her mom. In the fitting room, a woman is helping her, and promptly leaves to answer the phone. She stands in the dressing room alone, surrounded by mirrors. The door opens, and Judy thinks it’s the woman who was helping her previously, but no, it’s a spirit or demon of some sort, who is now underneath Judy's dress and, if I recall correctly, biting her legs? It was a ridiculous scene, and besides the fear factor involved, it just looked stupid.
After Tony, Judy’s fiancé, and her parents are led to the Smurls, Judy convinces her parents to help. While I understand the sentiment, this part bothered me because Judy is well aware that her dad is already struggling with his health. While I think Ed is portrayed as a man who wants to seem fine, If it were me, I would not drag my parents into an investigation when the results could harm their health even more. Despite that, the Warrens all start to unravel the mystery of the Smurls' house.
Lorraine figures out that there are three spirits, a husband, his wife, and mother whom he both killed. But in reality, these spirits are being controlled by.. you guessed it… a demon! Then, the said demon tricks Judy into going into the attic. This whole part of the movie was by far my least favorite because I couldn’t take it seriously at all. Judy gets chased by an 8 foot tall Annabelle doll, which leads to her falling down the stairs of the house. I don’t know why anybody who was working on this movie thought that having a ridiculous looking doll chase Judy throughout the Smurls house was a good idea. I couldn’t even see the scene as terrifying because it just, to be blunt, wasn't.
In addition to Judy being chased by a comically large Annabelle, the ugly mirror that was supposedly crushed and destroyed by the trash truck was actually still there. It appeared in the attic of the house once again, being the object that ties the spirits to the house and continuing to torment the Smurls family. The Warrens decide that they need to bring the mirror back to their home, but Judy falls ill as Ed, Jack, and Tony try to remove it from the house. They fail profusely, and the demon possesses Judy. While that's happening, Ed also has a cardiac episode as Lorriane fights for her life in the basement.
I know the Conjuring series is sort of chaotic, lots of loud noises, scary music, and multiple things happening at once, but this entire sequence was just… too much. Ed having a cardiac episode, Lorraine being chased by the axe man in the basement while she tries to crawl through the now flooded basement (It was flooded with blood,) then Judy being possessed and proceeding to go up to the attic to hang herself.
Tony rescues Lorraine from the basement, and Ed suddenly feels fine after taking some sort of pill; they all rush up to the attic. Ed cuts Judy down from the ceiling, and she falls through the floor. Lorraine revives Judy again with a prayer (which I don’t think would realistically work after she was hung and fell through the floor of the attic, but I mean, sure).
It really gets ridiculous after Ed attempts to exorcise the mirror. He obviously fails, and Lorraine puts her hand up to the mirror, telling Judy to as well, and to “Embrace” her psychic abilities. They scream and embrace their powers. After they “embrace their powers” (whatever that's supposed to entail), the mirror shatters, and the spirits no longer haunt the Smurls’ residence.
On Letterboxd, a quote from fan Joe A. said, “I gotta be honest, these movies make no sense to me. Not necessarily a bad or good thing, I just nod my head in agreement because I like the actors on the screen a lot.” They rated the film 2.5 stars.
Another review from the user, Harry Argyle, reads, “Every single person in this film has a moment where they do the dumbest thing at the worst time,” reviewing the film at two stars.
In Sethsreviews Letterboxd comment, they said, “Mixed bad: way way too long, and possibly excessively sentimental at points. Also some of the attempted jump-scares are straight rubbish. Yet it does also manage to feel pretty charming, deeply anchored in reflections of the prior works, a sincere swing that succeeded more often than not. although I would’ve liked a full swing for the fences, which this definitely is not.” They reviewed “Last Rites” at three stars.
The concept of the movie was good, and there were parts I enjoyed, like the ending, where Lorraine has a vision of their future as a family. Throughout the actual horror aspect, a lot of parts, like the giant Annabelle doll, were just laughable and not necessarily scary. One of the reasons I like “The Conjuring” so much more is because of the tension built throughout the movie. The jumpscares are expected, but they were so well done that they really work. The tension and ominous atmosphere really get me every time I rewatch it. Throughout the time of The Conjuring series, I feel as if most elements from the first movie were not implemented as smoothly or well at all in “Last Rites.” The music, jumpscares, and bone-chilling moments from the 2013 film did not continue or deliver to the other movies, and what was once terrifying is now cheap and comical.
I don’t necessarily think it was a waste of time to watch “The Conjuring: Last Rites” because I spent money to see it twice in theaters, but I don’t think I ever need to rewatch it.