FILM REVIEW: THE CONJURING – LAST RITES (15) ESP RATING: 4/5

A fitting farewell that dares to take it slow – before it screams!

I walked into my screening with low expectations. The chatter online felt split right down the middle: plenty of folks grumbling, plenty declaring it a franchise-saver. Mixed responses, to say the least. Having now seen The Conjuring: Last Rites, I get why it ruffles feathers – but were my own feathers ruffled?

The film reunites Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren. With Mia Tomlinson as Judy and Ben Hardy as Tony Spera – plus the welcome return of Steve Coulter as Father Gordon – the story is set in the mid-eighties and draws on the demonic Pennsylvania-set Smurl haunting – the kind of case that tempts the Warrens into one last stand.

Here’s what I believe will divide people: for roughly two-thirds, this isn’t the barnstorming The Conjuring you might expect. It’s a character piece. A patient, sometimes tender portrait of the Warrens’ marriage, legacy, and the toll of living with the ‘dark’.

There are jump scares and broad-shouldered haunts peppered throughout – this universe still knows how to rattle a seat – but the movie’s heartbeat is domestic: Ed’s frailty, Lorraine’s resolve, Judy’s inheritance of the family gift/curse. As a tribute in the franchise’s final chapter, I found that very endearing.

Then the last act detonates! Set-pieces stack up, the film goes gloriously big, and it becomes the crowd-pleasing supernatural rollercoaster many were waiting for.

As a series, The Conjuring can be a victim of its own success. The previous core entry (The Devil Made Me Do It) felt like one of the lighter links – not terrible, just dimmed by the franchise’s high bar. Standing alone, it was fine enough; graded against The Conjuring I & II, less so. Last Rites ties the threads together far more cleanly: thematically (faith, family, responsibility), mythologically (the case-file spine), and emotionally (a true goodbye to the Warrens).

The tone is well judged – a few well-placed laughs, spurts of gore where it counts, and just enough ‘cover-your-eyes’ moments to keep a Friday-night crowd buzzing.

Now, about that ‘is it really the end’ question? Sure, it’s billed as the final movie of the series – but with the franchise’s box-office already smashing milestones, I wouldn’t bet against another chapter somewhere down the line.

And ultimately my own feathers definitely weren’t ruffled with this instalment. In my opinion, this is a confident, bittersweet series-capper that earns its bombastic finale by spending time with the people who made this series matter.

A fitting finale for a much-loved horror series that – for the most part – conjured a magically haunting spell.

ESP Rating: 4/5

Mike Clarke

Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Steve Coulter, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Mackenzie Foy & Lili Taylor

Running Time: 2 Hrs 15 Mins

Director: Michael Chaves

Film Review Venue: Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough

For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Showcase Cinema De Lux & Odeon Luxe cinemas go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk and www.odeon.co.uk