The Conjuring: Last Rites Parent Guide

The Conjuring - Last Rites is supposed to be the last installment in the insanely successful Conjuring franchise which tells the story of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Fermiga). Wildly successful since the first film in 2013, the Conjuring universe now contains nine movies, five comic books and a dedicated fan base. Now I have to admit my review is coming from a bit of an odd place because I am quite familiar with the real-life Warren’s story but had not seen any of the movies until now. I only bring this up to say that, despite this being a supernatural horror movie, the most unrealistic part of this movie is the casting of Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren. Go look up a picture of Ed Warren and then look up Patrick Wilson. Seriously, go do it right now, I’ll wait. Did you do it? It’s crazy. Now, the review.

Last Rites opens with younger Warrens investigating their first demonic possession. Lorraine Warren breaks rule number one of horror movies and goes into the storage room of an antiques shop alone to find a possessed mirror. She, being great with child, touches the mirror and her baby is immediately affected by the demon possessing it. Lorraine promptly goes into labor and there is a mad rush to save the baby, which is stillborn. Ed and Lorraine beg God to let them have their daughter back and baby Judy (later played by Mia Tomlinson) begins to cry. Though seemingly healthy, Judy’s later life is tormented by demonic visions, which become worse as her wedding approaches.

This isn’t the end of the mirror’s mischief – years later it surfaces in the Smurl family where it wreaks domestic havoc and even triggers a suicide. When Judy Warren decides to investigate the death, the Smurls and Warrens are forced to confront demons – one last time. Will the power of family, love, or some other horror flick trope give them the power to defeat the demonic mirror?

Series fans know that the ending is never in doubt. Neither is the presence of jump scares and creepy content. This movie is rife with jump scares, no surprise since Conjuring universe is really a tribute to 70’s horror movies. Anyone who does not like horror and jump scares should take a pass on this film.

As for the creepy factor, we see a large assortment of vicious, evil, unsettling demons. They haunt everything from mirrors, to toys, to masks, to statues. In fact, this movie really feels like an exercise in how creepy the director can make dolls appear to be. This is a mainstay element of the franchise so it should come to no surprise to anyone that the most innocent items (see mirrors) are made to be creepy and disturbing.

In addition, there is significant gore and violence as characters are chased by ax-wielding demons, creepy old ladies, and possessed dolls, resulting in enough blood to sail a ship on. There are also graphic depictions of suicide. I also want to flag that this movie is a supernatural horror movie: if you have strong religious beliefs you may object to the discussion and portrayal of demons. To be honest, there is intense creepy imagery of demons and religious iconography and that is the entire point of this movie. If you watch this with a child, you deserve to deal with all the nightmares that will inevitably ensue.

All in all, this is a passable horror movie for genre fans but a poor historical showing (although I acknowledge that is not the point). Last Rites pays significant fan service to help wrap up the franchise.

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Kai Yee