Critic Reviews

It’s rare for a final film in a horror franchise to deliver character development, a chilling story, and a satisfying ending for the characters. The Conjuring: Last Rites does all three. As a farewell to the Warrens, Chaves balances the terrifying with the heartfelt to great effect.

A suitably shiver-inducing farewell to the Warrens.

Chaves has become a skilful enough craftsman that he deserves parole to pastures new. Meanwhile, Wilson and especially Farmiga, who have lent gravitas to so much that’s profoundly trumped up and silly, can take a long-deserved bow.

The climax of “Last Rites” is as tense and unsettling as you want to be, but it’s also warm and inspiring, because unlike a lot of movies that sell the idea of families being stronger when they all work together, this one totally believes in it and sells it with all the skill and emotion it can muster.

All in all, The Conjuring: Last Rites is a well-made film. I might even call it the best Conjuring film since the original. It could pass as a great drama if you removed the jump scares and other horror tropes.

Whatever the flaws of The Conjuring series as a whole, "Last Rites" feels like a worthy conclusion.

What Last Rites gets most correct is its family dynamics, hearkening back to the first film's initial moments and providing a strong thread throughout the series. Farmiga, Wilson, and new and returning characters all pull this off brilliantly.

While the movie does a fine job sending off the Warrens, it lacks some of the charm of its predecessors, and in the end, feels more like a comforting rerun than an exciting new horror effort.

It’s a fitting end to the Warrens’ cinematic journey and a graceful farewell to a franchise that gave us more than we ever expected.

As a scary movie, 'The Conjuring: Last Rites' is a generic film, neither good nor bad. It’s practically begging audiences to judge it on a 'pass/fail' basis. As the conclusion of the 'Conjuring' series, it’s a little more successful, but not much.