It’s always staggering information for someone when they are explained how many movies are in any given horror franchise. You often don’t need to be picky, they’re all fairly weighty. Twelve Friday the 13ths, thirteen Halloweens, six Exorcists, nine Nightmare on Elm Streets, six Screams, six Child’s Plays… It’s just as likely for a scary sequel to end with a five in its title as it is a two. So at first glance hearing that The Conjuring series is ending with its fourth picture seems refreshingly short. Of course that’s ignoring the five other spin off movies that franchise contains.

Yes it’s true, there is after all is said and done, nine films in The Conjuring Universe. It’s a franchise that’s very quietly amassed a staggering 2 billion dollar gross at the international box office since the first film came out in 2013. And now with The Conjuring: The Last Rites, the series is seemingly coming to a close.

The Conjuring series follows the exploits of real life paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Loraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren. The married couple do their best to drop in on families being subjected to the terrors of various ghouls and ghosts. Each film focusing on a supposed real life case that the Warrens helped to exorcise out of a families home. And The Last Rites is no different, apart from the involvement of Ed and Loraine’s daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson).

Ed and Loraine have decided to retire in the film, Ed’s health not being what it was. But a haunted mirror from their past lures them and their daughter into the home of family living outside a steel refinery in a suburb of Pittsburgh in the late 1980s. The film follows a similar pattern to the rest of the franchise. Family begins being haunted, not sure what is causing the chaos. Before long they determine that it is indeed a haunting and reach out to the public and the clergy for help. Eventually word makes its way back to The Warrens and the pros get involved. While perhaps a little rote at this point, the structure is not without its uses. The portion where the family is being tormented is often the scariest, when they are facing unknown terrors without the supports of experts like Ed and Loraine. Even when you know how things will turn out, the ghosts shenanigans can get a good jumpscare out of even the most stoic of horror fans.

These films usually flesh out these families well, giving each member enough of a character that you’re able to latch on. The first one succeeds the best at this, but the formula is found throughout the mainline series of the franchise. Each member of the working class family feels distinct and memorable in this movie. Lines like “Eight people live in this house, eight people are being tormented” manage to give the film emotional weight. It’s not an easy feat in a horror movie, a genre that rarely eclipses ninety minutes. The Conjuring’s are an exception to that rule, the films largely go past the two hour mark, having to do more set up than you’re after demonic possession film.

That’s what makes this franchise fun. The characters largely have weight on screen, both in terms of writing as well as performance. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are both giving all star performances in each picture. The two of them are what kept bringing me back to this franchise, and the work they’re putting in here is a reminder of why I kept returning to the well.

My main issue with Last Rites is that while it’s nice to get time with the family being haunted, the film takes perhaps too much time bidding goodbye to The Warrens. Much like some kind of iconic superhero picture, the movie wants to roll out the red carpet for these characters. And while I enjoy the performances, the Warrens themselves were largely con artists who grifted working class families. The idea of bidding them a fond farewell isn’t something I need, or particularly want. I love Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, but I’m not sure I need an Avengers level send off for their characters.

So Last Rites winds up a little long in the tooth, and at times feeling a little dull. It’s not the white knuckle horror that James Wan had with the first two movies, but it is certainly an improvement on The Devil Made Me Do It, the third movie in the franchise. It’s a fun horror movie that fans of the genre and the franchise will enjoy, even if it drags a bit at points.

3/5