La Conjuration: Derniers rites

While aiming to build upon a great legacy, the film ultimately disappoints. It lacks the intense horror that defines the genre's best works and struggles to deliver genuine scares. Consequently, it falls short of being a proper horror movie, particularly when compared to earlier installments in The Conjuring series😔

I went into this flick hoping for a grand send-off. What I got was a limp, recycled mess that felt more like a bad spin-off than the franchise's finale. The setup had promise, but the movie just dragged until the halfway point. By then, I'd already checked my watch 2 times.

The screenplay? Paper thin. Characters exist just to be spooked, and the scares are predictable jump-outs you can see a mile away. There's no tension, no atmosphere, just loud bangs and cheap tricks. At this point, you can practically set a stopwatch to when the next door will slam.

And then there's Michael Chaves. Let's be real-this isn't his first stumble. La Llorona was weak. The Devil Made Me Do It barely felt like a horror movie. The Nun II was a snooze. And now here we are again, same bag of empty tricks. He confuses loud noises for scares and speed bumps for suspense. If James Wan built this house of horror with care, Chaves has turned it into a carnival ride running out of batteries.

Who in their right mind thought that hey let's give the guy who delivered 3 trashes in a row another story to butcher? Perfect for a franchise closer.

Sure, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga do their best, as always. Their chemistry still works, but they can't carry a whole movie on their backs. A "heartfelt farewell" means nothing when the movie itself can't even scare a nervous teenager in a dark theater.

"This film is easily skippable. It has only one scene that's good at best, and even that feels like an accident in an otherwise poorly directed production. The rest is just over two hours of mind-numbing boredom, dragged down by sluggish pacing and characters you won't care about. It's just plain bad, not 'so bad it's good' funny, and for a movie trying to be a thriller, it is absolutely NOT SCARY!"

The 9th film in The Conjuring Universe and the intended finale of the saga so far, The Conjuring: Last Rites starts on a rather promising note and even features a strong first half but soon heads downhill after that to finish as another underwhelming chapter in the series. Definitely no match to the first two films but certainly an improvement over the third, this latest entry settles for a lot less than what was up for grabs.

Directed by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona & The Nun II), the story finds the Warrens taking on one last case that forces them to confront an evil from their past. Chaves never really was the right choice to helm the main stories but he does get some things right before resorting to cheap thrills. The film takes a slow-burn approach that patiently guides us towards the finale that proves to be downright forgettable.

The first two films directed by James Wan had that vintage quality, old-school flair, foreboding atmosphere & effective scares that heightened the experience. This one borrows bit of that for the build-up but fails to capitalise on it later in the story. Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga remain the glue holding this picture together and their warm chemistry helps keep things afloat for the most part but the film needed more on all fronts.

Overall, The Conjuring: Last Rites brings the Ed & Lorraine Warren journey full circle and gives them a proper send-off with its radiant epilogue but for a climactic chapter, it is disappointing without doubt. Add to that, like most instalments in the franchise, the jump scares are bland & predictable, lacking in intensity, and also devoid of the ingredients that made its predecessors stand out. In short, a lacklustre finale of The Conjuring saga.

The movie has a slow build-up but lacks interest in developing the story of the demon, or it had a rushed ending with a lot of questions not being answered. As the movie has a few sequels, we expect more as an audience. For me, The Conjuring 2 is still the best, with a perfect build-up and living up to the characters. It was a shame to see such a good story turn into another "fast food" movie.