THE CONJURING: LAST RITES

Set in the 1980s, this ninth installment in the franchise sees the return of paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) reluctantly taking on one final case. Inspired by a real-life haunting in Pennsylvania, they are tasked with exorcising a demon from the Smurl family’s residence and saving their possessed daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson). Creepy fan-favourite doll Annabelle, featured in three previous Conjuring universe films, also makes an appearance. Dark, moody cinematography, styled to reflect the 80’s, plus a relentless stream of bone-shaking scares, deliver plenty of horror chills. The plot is reasonably engaging but promoting this movie as truth is questionable given a large amount of creative license has been taken with the story and Judy’s involvement in the Smurl’s situation was 100% fictional. The “farewell” ending was too sentimental for my liking and felt like an undeserved shortcut for this final chapter. Spooky and unnerving but nothing overly new.