SYNOPSIS: In “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” a new supernatural thriller starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson now playing in theaters, retired paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren get back into ghostbusting when a demon haunts the Smurl family home in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. “Once we start, there’s no going back,” says Ed (Patrick Wilson). “Anything can happen and most likely anything will.”
CAST: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy Steve Coulter, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, John Brotherton, and Shannon Kook. Directed by Michael Chaves.
REVIEW: Based on the real-life exploits of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is the haunting conclusion to the franchise, which began in 2013.
The story begins in 1964 with a younger version of the Warrens, played by Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor, on their first case. As they investigate a haunted mirror, Lorraine goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital. Trouble is, a demon of some sort tags along.
Cut to 1986. Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson) is now grown up with a boyfriend Tony Spera (Ben Hardy) who is ready to propose. She’s happy, but has inherited her mother’s clairvoyance, and struggles to keep the visions in check.
The Warrens, meanwhile, are looking to retire, but are drawn back into the world of demonology after a request from the desperate Jack and Janet Smurl. Strange things are happening at their modest duplex. They hear eerie voices, a daughter barfs up gallons of blood, mysterious forces move objects and have attacked their two young daughters.
The Warrens, along with Judy and Tony, agree to investigate, and come up against one of their most powerful foes, the mirror demon from their first case.
Part domestic drama, part demonic spectacle, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is a respectful goodbye to the Warrens. It finds a cozy balance between the families and the frights, which ups the stakes as the movie winds its way to the climatic exorcism. Somehow, director Michael Chaves manages to make jump scares warm and fuzzy.
Longtime fans will also enjoy the film’s Easter eggs. “Do you like dolls?” asks one of the Smurl children. “Not really,” says Judy, whose interactions with cursed toy Annabelle were less than positive.
Still, even though the characters are nicely rendered, at 135 minutes the movie feels overlong, as if the Warrens are reluctant to wrap things up, or, more likely, pass the demonic baton to daughter Judy.
I realize when dealing with demons it’s best to be cautious, but nobody seems to be in a hurry to do anything in this movie. Chaves never met a pause he couldn’t lengthen or a reveal he couldn’t stretch to the point of breaking. Instead of building atmosphere it slows the movie to crawl. So even with a wild climax that has the kind of horrific images fans expect, the slow pace of the rest of the film, is a curse.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” left me simultaneously wanting more—more thrills and chills— but also less.
“The Nun II,” a new horror film starring Taissa Farmiga, and now playing in theatres, is a sequel to a movie that was a prequel to the sequel of 2013’s “The Conjuring.” Confused? Not to worry, despite its convoluted pedigree, all you need to know is that “The Nun II” brings back one of the creepiest characters of recent memory.
The follow-up to 2018’s “The Nun,” the new R rated (for violent content and terror) movie is set in 1956, France. Farmiga returns as the determined and devout demon warrior Sister Irene. When a priest is murdered in spectacular supernatural fashion, Sister Irene investigates, sensing the evil handiwork of her old adversary Valak (Bonnie Aarons). Once an angel, Valak was rejected by God and sent to Hell before resurfacing to spread malevolence while disguised as a nun.
As Irene zeroes in on Valak, her investigation leads to a French boarding school where Maurice (Jonas Bloquet), who saved her life at the end of the last film, but may now have something to do with the spread of Valak’s reign of terror, works as a handyman. Joined by schoolteacher Marcella (Anna Popplewell), her daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey) and rebellious novice Sister Debra (Storm Reid), Irene battles to prevent Valak from spreading evil to the world. “I know why it’s here,” Irene says, “I saw what it wants.”
“The Nun II” has atmosphere to burn. The boarding school, which appears to be made up of nothing but long hallways, flickering lights and a decrepit old chapel, provides an effective shadowy backdrop for much of the action. The dark, murky cinematography hangs over the proceedings like a shroud, creating a gloomy vibe that adds to the overall feeling of dread.
Trouble is, Sister Irene’s journey to vanquish Valak is low on actual scares. There are a few pretty good jump scares, some eerie imagery, and the demon in full nun regalia is still an unsettling sight, but the movie is just a little too similar to “The Nun”—it’s another story about Irene and an ancient demon destroying relic—to feel anything but familiar.
The final fifteen minutes, a showdown between the divine and the demonic, is visually interesting and ends the movie with a flourish, but even with the flashy finish, it’s hard not to think that, at this point, “The Nun” franchise is becoming a bad habit.
Eight movies into “The Conjuring” franchise the ghostbusting Warrens, Ed and Lorraine, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, face their most daunting adversary yet. They’ve battled evil in the form of haunted houses, supernatural spirits and a nasty doll named Annabelle, but in “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” now playing in theatres, the married demonologists investigate a murder and a suspect who claims the devil made him do it.
Set in 1981 Connecticut, “The Devil Made Me Do It” is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, the first case to attempt a defense claim of demonic possession.
The movie begins with a priest and the Warrens performing an exorcism on eight-year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard) that would give Regan MacNeil a run for her money. As all hell breaks loose, the demon leaves the youngster’s body and, after Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor), the boyfriend of David’s sister taunts it, takes control of the older man. “Leave him alone!” Arne says to the demon. “He’s just a little boy you coward! Leave him alone and take me!”
Soon Arne’s behaviour changes and when he stabs his landlord twenty-two times, the Warrens set out to prove he is not guilty by reason of demonic possession. “The court accepts the existence of God every time a witness swears to tell the truth,” Ed says. “I think it’s about time they accept the existence of the Devil.”
When Arne is charged in a Death penalty case, the Warrens spring into action to prove his innocence. “We won’t let him down,” Ed says. As the couple work to discover what is real and what is not, the case presents ever increasing personal danger.
“The Devil Made Me Do It” is more a procedural prompted by Arne’s actions than Arne’s story. He disappears for forty-five minutes or so as the Warrens decipher the mystery surrounding his crime. Director Michael Chaves keeps up the atmosphere of dread with a series of well-executed lighting effects, jump scares and eerie sound cues but, while he delivers some shocks, he knows that the real reason the “Conjuring” movies work is the relationship between Wilson and Farmiga. As the Warrens they are the earthbound anchor who add humanity to the supernatural goings on.
Sure, there is a devilish waterbed—anyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s already knew waterbeds were bad, but the movie makes a convincing case for them as evil as well—and lots of Satanic Panic, but “The Devil Made Me Do It” isn’t all pentagrams and inverted crosses. It flags in the midsection, but by the time the end credits roll the relationship between the demon hunters is front and centre, a testament to the power of love. It may be a cliché but it adds some light to the film’s dark elements and gives Wilson and Farmiga some nice character-building moments.
The Warrens are unlikely horror heroes, but “The Devil Made Me Do It” proves you don’t have to be creepy to deliver the thrills.
