One of the most anticipated horror films of the year has hit the big screen. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” takes audiences on a thrill ride filled with horror, intensity, and love.
The Conjuring franchise is based on a true story about Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple who are paranormal investigators. Lorraine possesses clairvoyant abilities and is a trance medium, meaning she can see and sense spiritual entities. With this gift, Lorraine and her husband take on cases to help families who are being haunted.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren in the final chapter of The Conjuring franchise. The case follows the Smurl family in Pennsylvania in 1986 as they are pursued by a demonic entity that masquerades as different spirits.
The film introduces the paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine, through a flashback to a prior case that will come back to haunt them. The storyline begins with a focus on the Warrens and their daughter Judy’s upbringing, as well as her relationship with Lorraine, who shares the clairvoyant gift.
Although the story jumps back and forth between the Warrens and the Smurl family, it is primarily focused on Judy. This is the first time in the franchise that we see her experience premonitions.
After the events of the previous movie, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” the Warrens begin to help families from afar. They travel to give lectures at different schools, but are often faced with smaller crowds and students who don’t take them seriously.
This all changes when unforeseen events affect a close family friend, forcing them to help the Smurl family.
Both Farmiga and Wilson continue to impress audiences with their performances as Ed and Lorraine. The love and care they put into these characters is shown throughout the movie. Farmiga was not only able to portray the emotional exhaustion and scary aspects of Lorraine’s gift, but also show us her empathetic side. She shows us the sacrifices one must make in exchange for a gift such as clairvoyant abilities.
Farmiga and Wilson’s chemistry is an integral part of the film. They show the partnership and hardships of the Warrens’ experiences. They portray their characters with love.
Beyond the character development, the scenery changes back and forth between dark and bright lighting. Scenes that portray happy moments or events are bathed in angelic light, with bright colors. These scenes were vast, with a view of everyone in the scene.
In contrast, the darker scenes felt claustrophobic, focusing on only one person and showing nothing in the background, which helped set up jump scares throughout the movie.
For example, when Judy and Lorraine would experience a vision, the lighting would change from bright to dim.
Scenes where a character uses a flashlight would use a similar movement. The camera would follow the moving light, also setting up for a jump scare when the light returns to its original position.
Shots where either Lorraine or Judy has a vision feature sound effects that consist of whispers, growling, and creaking. The sound becomes quiet when a jump scare is about to happen, followed by loud, eerie music immediately after the scare.
The music consists of 80s rock that is played throughout the movie during joyful scenes. This is in contrast to the previous Conjuring films, whose soundtrack consisted of little to no music.
The movie gives the franchise a bittersweet ending. We see different joyful events with the Warrens. Alongside this, we see characters from the previous films.
Although the final film is more focused on the Warrens, it still delivers the The Conjurings franchise’s signature scares.