‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’: The familiar fails

With James Wan at the helm, ‘The Conjuring’ had stylistic intrigue and horror spooks to match. The recent ones, especially the previous edition, ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’, and the film under review, have no such specialty to hook you.

‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ was rather insipid and ‘Last Rites’ largely exists as fan service. This movie is loosely based on experiences of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, and this is the case that pushed the pair into retirement.

At the fag end of their career, the Warrens are being set up this one last time to pass on the baton to their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson), who had a troubled birth and now, as an adult, appears to be grappling with her own inherited psychic powers.

This story is about the Smurls, a Pennsylvania joint family whose real-life paranormal experiences caused a media hoopla in 1986. The Smurls are haunted by a cursed mirror that the Warrens dealt with in a case dating back to the period just hours before their daughter’s birth. In her early twenties, Judy is having visions about the Smurls.

The first half is largely expository, concentrating on the link-up between the Warrens’ first-ever case from way back and the Smurls’ current dilemma. It takes quite a while before the spooks come into play.

No surprises here. The jump scares are too obvious. The dark dusty interiors, attic, etc, are ideal settings but don’t raise horror or fear. The nostalgia trips into the Warrens’ home and glimpses of Annabelle, and several other call backs, fail to do the needful either. The familiar fails to cause discomfort or disquiet.

The Warrens are part of the case here. They too have a past history linkage that could put their lives at risk. The problem though is that we never feel the urgency or experience the severity of the demonic possession. It all feels rather watered down and insipid.

Wan structured more urgency into his telling, but Chaves does not have anything interesting to add and tends to fall back on mining nostalgia from previous outings. His treatment feels overcooked. The visuals don’t get you bothered despite the obligatory gloom and doom effects.

The presentation lacks conviction and is chaotic, with the focus shifting between the Warrens and the Smurls. Janet and Jack Smurl (Calder and Cowan) and their four daughters are fending off ghosts, and another more ominous presence. The ‘mirror’ connection to the Warrens has them getting involved in helping purge a possessive demon from the Smurls’ house.

The prologue set in 1964 feels pointless. The stakes get smaller, the characters seem less vulnerable and the runtime feels unnecessarily elongated. The Warrens get a swansong befitting their status as icons of a successful franchise, but the audience is left feeling dissatisfied. We are more than likely to miss Wilson and Farmiga, but there’s hope for a new beginning.

Judy seems to be primed for taking up new demonic challenges. For now, it’s curtains for the indomitable couple that made ‘The Conjuring’ universe so gravitating.