The Conjuring: Last Rights is the fourth and supposedly final film in the Conjuring franchise, directed once again by Michael Shaves. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
I love the first two Conjuring movies. I think they're fantastic, and I like the third one, too. I didn't think it was too bad. This film is directed by the same person who's also done The Curse of La Llorona, as well as The Nun Too. He has now done four movies in the Conjuring universe. I think I like this one just about as much as the third, maybe even a tad more because what this movie did really well that surprised me is it actually has a pretty strong emotional center and it handles relationships between this family very well.
At this point, Ed and Lorraine's daughter Judy is dating a dude named Tony and Tony really wants to marry her and wants Ed and Lorraine's blessing. A lot of this movie does focus on him trying to prove himself to them in a way that I didn't expect.
It has to end the Ed and Lorraine saga in a big way that feels emotionally resonant. And since their daughter, played by Mia Tomlinson, is so front and center in the story and so important to the narrative, I think that's how they accomplished it. It did work for me.
When it comes to fourth entries in a franchise, and of course, this movie also is kind of tied into the Annabelle movies, too. But if you just take the Conjuring movies, this is the fourth one. When you get that far along in most horror franchises, you start to get pretty bad. I mean, like bad bad. And this one is nothing like that. This still is made with considerable quality and care.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have never just cast a check on this franchise. Never once have they phoned it in. They have always given 100% to these characters and to these movies. And both of them have very compelling reasons to be in this film.
Yes, this franchise has explored a vast majority of the most well-known paranormal cases. The third one, The Devil Made Me Do It. I think all of us knew about that one, too. This one not as well-known. Definitely documented. People who love to explore the paranormal know about it, but it's nowhere near as famous as something like Amityville.
Michael Shave is a good filmmaker. He knows how to craft a good scare, how to set up a lot of tension. But again, I will say the thing about this movie that worked the most for me were its characters and the family dynamic.
The actual ending of this movie, of course, without getting into details, I thought was very satisfying. I think they did just the right thing. Conjuring one and two are always going to be the best of this franchise, but three and four are not bad movies. They're not as good as one and two, but they're still way better than most third and fourth entries in horror franchises. So, check it out in theaters. Always support horror in theaters.