THE CONJURING: LAST RITES

Being the last entry in the main 'Conjuring' series 'Last Rites' has a lot to live up to - after not only the lacklustre previous entry, but the weak spin-off films. The film does struggle at times, but it does put the focus back on the Warrens and lets the audience enjoy this one last time with them. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are truly such incredible actors, and in this franchise they do such a good job of making you feel connected to the film. Even if horror is not your genre, their chemistry alone is so captivating that you're sure to be invested.

The film, both in text and marketing, has a lot of focus on this case being so scary that the Warrens had to stop paranormal investigating. The film doesn't live up to that promise; in totality, it's nowhere near as scary as previous instalments.

While having more focus on the haunting, the film does lack the scares of the first two films, but is much more creative than 'The Devil Made Me Do It'. The narrative here has a lot of build-up - for a lot of the film, the Warrens and Smurl family are apart, with the investigation left for the third act. We see a haunting scene with the Smurls, then cut back to Ed and Lorraine spending time with their daughter. It takes a long time for the two families to meet, and while it tries to piece these two storylines together, it does stumble. In this particular case, the Warrens just aren't as important to the hauntings, and so the film suffers because of the distance between the two plots.

Being the final film, it definitely leaves room for either a spin-off with the younger versions of the Warrens or their daughter; however, it does have a satisfying ending note for these characters. I love Farmiga and Wilson's portrayal of Lorriane and Ed so much, and the film did end on a beautiful note for those two.

Like 'The Devil Made Me Do It', 'Last Rites' has a lack of memorable horror villains. While nothing will be as iconic as 'Annabelle' or 'The Nun', the film's demons are just creepy zombie-like creatures that leave no impression on the audience.

'The Conjuring: Last Rites' might not live up to the heights of the series's first two films, but it's a sweet send-off for some of horror's most iconic characters. While it lacks the scares, it has some great creative moments that make this a fun watch.