Expected to be the frightening finale to the series, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” was a disappointment, including a poorly-written script and a multitude of cliches. 

Earlier this week, I attended an early showing hoping to experience the thrill “The Conjuring” movie series has brought to its fans for over a decade. I went with a friend of mine who also enjoys horror movies — we both agreed this was the worst film in the franchise. 

It was definitely made for those who already know about the history of the ghost hunters, Ed and Lorraine Warren. This is not a film a person should watch if they are unfamiliar with the franchise — instead, it will mostly appeal to fans of The Conjuring franchise and supernatural enthusiasts. 

This review does contain some spoilers moving forward.

The film was based on the haunting of the Smurls’ home in Pennsylvania in 1986. The story was publicized on TV and contained alleged reports of a haunting. The Warren’s had performed many exorcisms in this investigation, to which they found there was a demonic presence lingering in the house. 

There wasn’t much creativity to the plot or the cinematography. The film relied on too many classic horror movie tactics, such as an overuse of blood flooding the house, characters floating over the bed and toys moving on their own.  

My friend and I grew up watching supernatural shows and movies, and the scary scenes came off as cringy to both of us. The reappearance of “Annabelle” felt as though it was added last minute and wasn’t important to the plot and scenes intended to be frightening, such as a mirror moving on its own, came off as idiotic. 

When it came to telling the Smurls’ side of the story with the haunted mirror, there wasn’t much mystery, nor was there much background surrounding the characters. The Smurls felt more like stock characters that were being terrorized. 

The film was slow and seemed to be anticlimactic, a toy began walking and floating on its own, a phone was yanked out of the mother’s hand. These are tactics I have seen in several movies and stories before, and I should have lowered my expectations.

A moviegoer with no prior knowledge of the family may call this film predictable, boring and laughable. However, as a follower of the controversy surrounding the real-life Warren’s, I think it  was a film dedicated to their controversial legacy and not a scary horror film. 

The Warrens were famous for their work with the supernatural. They were widely known for their investigations in the 70s, and were heavily criticized for being fakes. The film greatly emphasizes their alleged work and portrays what risks they took in the field. Given that Ed and Lorraine in this movie are older, this film lets us know that their story is coming to an end. 

It seemed as though the writers tried ending on a positive note. The Warrens defeat the ghost at the Smurl house, but they didn’t need to do it with the “power of family.” Given how cringy the end was, the film reminded me of a knockoff of “The Ghostbusters.”

Though the script didn’t match my expectations,  I found the acting quite impressive. Vera Farmiga, who has played Lorraine since 2013 in the first “The Conjuring,” did a wonderful job. Even with a laughable script and cringy scenes, she managed to stay perfectly in character. 

Patrick Wilson, who has played Ed Warren since 2013, also played his role well. Wilson and Farmiga were able to capture their characters in a sense where they have aged on and off-screen. They still portrayed the urgency to stop hauntings and banish demons. Farmiga managed to capture Lorraine’s motherly characteristics while Wilson remained in Ed’s heroic nature.  Their performance ultimately made the script a little better. 

As previously stated, the film was one of the most boring horror movies I’ve seen. The movie could have been executed better, given the prior films in the series, and perhaps that’s why this film is additionally disappointing. Having lower expectations for the movie would make it a better experience, along with watching all of the previous films beforehand. Instead of preparing for a scary movie, viewers should get ready to laugh and have their popcorn close at hand.

Allisyn Shaw can be reached at [email protected].