The Mosley Review: The Conjuring: Last Rites

I love when a franchise gets another chance to course correct. Even the biggest franchises make mistakes and as they learn from them, they get the chance to show off the improvements they've made. The last film in this saga was a hard swing in the wrong direction and almost completely diverted away from the sort of grounded nature of the supernatural horror it is based upon. The Warrens were almost portrayed as supernatural superheroes and it really didn't work for me. With the landscape of horror slowly shifting away from the "elevated" genre, it felt great to come back to a style of spooky that has been missing in the ghostly side of horror. This film does that wonderfully and gets back to the tone of the first film and I found myself enjoying the supernatural again. I loved that the film became more of a family driven story as we go a more personal look into the lives of The Warren Family. The spooky and disturbing images are still intact and the execution of the scares were better crafted even if some of them are repetitive and show their hands too soon.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the charismatic paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and they continue to expertly carry the story along. What I loved this time around is that we got a look back at their younger days and the exploration of their personal life away from the supernatural. Patrick still delivers that down to earth charm as he does embraces the quieter life and his health. Vera continues to radiate warmth as Lorraine and their chemistry truly is the heart the series. I liked that we see how Lorraine accepts this new life of quiet while having the most control over her visions. Mia Tomlinson was fantastic as their daughter, Judy Warren. The film shifts and focuses more on the family of the Warrens and how Judy deals with the growing frequency of visions she saw as child and into adulthood. Judy’s gift felt more like a curse at times and I wish we had time to explore that just a bit more. Ben Hardy was fun and Judy's boyfriend, Tony Spera. He just wanted to fit in and make Judy’s parents proud and he does so in his boyish charm. The comedic timing between him and Ed brought the best moments of awkward humor. Steve Coulter returns as the always jovial and supportive, Father Gordon. He gets a good showcase in the film, but what goes on with his character raises more questions that don't get to be answered. Now the main victims in this story are The Smurl Family. The entire cast of the family were great, but there is one that stood out among the rest. Beau Gadsdon stole the show as Dawn Smurl. The entire family was the target, but her emotional breakdown at the dinner table after a truly painful haunting was the break out moment of the film for me.

The score by Benjamin Wallfisch was serviceable as it plays its part in the more intense moments of terror. His score really sores in the emotional opening of the film and as you watch Judy Warren grow up. If you're going into this film looking for the most terrifying investigation of all, then you may be a bit disappointed. The same old count down before the scare happens was fun in an old school way, but it got truly repetitive in the middle. Where this franchise worked best was the sneaky, quiet and subtle visuals that made you do a double take. This film brings that back in the best way, but it still had problems as the hauntings got more frequent. There is a CGI sequence that features a prominent item of the Warren's hauntings and thankfully it was bathed in darkness and small bursts of light. It would've detracted from the excellent finale, but thankfully the director was conscientious of that. As the final main line chapter in "The Conjuring" franchise, this was a satisfying finale that was more family driven and a vast improvement over the last entry. Do stick around for the end credit that leaves you with an eerie truth. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in comments below. Thanks for reading!