For the first movie in the Halloween section of Movie of the Week, I chose to write about a movie I recently saw in theaters and LOVED.
This week’s Movie of the Week is The Conjuring: Last Rites. I have two words to describe this movie: Holy Crap. To say this movie was highly anticipated by the audience would be an understatement. It seems to me that each Conjuring movie gets better and better, which usually doesn’t happen for long movie series like this one. You are introduced to two characters whom you instantly fall in love with. I personally love the boyfriend; he is by far my new favorite character, but I won’t go too much into detail about him, so that I won’t spoil it terribly.
The Conjuring: Last Rites follows the journey of Ed and Loranne Warren one last time as their own daughter gets caught in the crossfire. The acting in this movie is always top-notch. It’s one of the best I’ve seen in horror films, and I LOVE horror movies. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson showcase their amazing acting skills in all four movies, but the addition of Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy as Judy Warren and Tony Spera is just a chef’s kiss.
The plot kept me on the edge of my seat and literally in tears on multiple occasions. This movie will absolutely be added to my rewatch list of horror movies. It’s use of practical effects mixed with incredibly good CGI left the movie with a lifelike feel to the film, as if it was actually happening to them. The addition of smaller plot points while still moving along with the main plot of the story was beautifully done. Some say the first half of this movie could be removed, and you would still get the same outcome. I disagree; while the first half of the movie is slow, it allows the audience to get to know and fall in love with the new characters. This allows the ending of the movie to make more of an impact on the audience. I know firsthand how well that worked on me. I told Elizabeth Wilson, whom I went to see the movie with, about how much I loved the addition of Tony Spera. When anything happened to him, it actually made me react.
As someone who watches horror movies for fun, I prefer the scarier, the better. I rate this movie a 10/10. I won’t lie, as a massive fan of horror movie franchises, this specific group of films is very near and dear to my heart, and I am genuinely sad that it’s over. Farmiga and Wilson helped shape what the horror movie scene looks like today. I can’t wait to see what projects they have in store for the viewers who love their work.
As always, if you have any movie suggestions, please feel free to email me anytime. Happy Halloween Month!