Film: The Conjuring: Last Rites
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Shannon Kook, Steve Coulter
Director: Michael Chaves
Rating: 2 stars
Runtime: 135 min

In this concluding chapter, a send-off of sorts, paranormal investigators, previously indomitable though now visibly exhausted duo, Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) take on one last case involving mysterious entities. This latest entry in the hit horror 9 film blockbuster franchise scripted by Ian B. Goldberg, Richard Naing, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and directed by Michael Chaves trades on nostalgia trips and callbacks to score intended thrills. There’s nothing original here. Even the jump scares seem like retreads and the attempt to bring back ‘Annabelle’ is certainly not as spooky as it was before.

This film is set in 1986. If you remember the previous entry, Ed suffered a heart attack, and he is still recovering from it in this one. The couple are no longer actively involved in their regular ritual. They are semi-retired and reduced to giving talks. There are not many takers even for that.

The film begins with a prologue set in 1964 depicting the birth of the couple’s daughter Judy. That’s an unnecessary piece of history we could have done without. By the time the Warrens are drawn into resolving one last case 22 years later, you are already restive and wondering where this is going. There’s even a bit about the adult Judy (Mia Tomlinson) and her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) arriving for a family get-together where Tony nervously asks Ed and Lorraine for their blessing. Obviously Judy is also psychic like her mother and she is the one who becomes aware of the Smurl family’s plight.