The conjuring: Last Rites(blog project 2)

     The Conjuring: Last Rites came out September 2025. It is one of the most influential modern horror franchises in the United Sates. The Conjuring has helped bring back supernatural horror as of the 2010s. It is also based on real life paranormal cases that took place. They also have some of the strongest character consistency. Ed and Loraine Warren are the main characters in all of the films and have become horror icons. Fans have built a deep emotional connection to these characters due to their dedication. The movies, Annabelle, The Nun, and the curse of La Llorona are all movies that are extensions to the main stories that have all done very well among the franchise. The original cases that happened in real life were all over the news when they took place Ed and Loraine's work shook the town of Monroe, Connecticut. 

    I am going to take a deep dive into the series of the conjuring and the legacy these films have now left behind. The series has had a major impact on the horror genre and has created a massive universe that gives me so much to analyze. These films were directed by James Wan he is an Australian filmmaker born on Feb. 27, 1977, in Kuching, Malaysia. He is most known for co-creating the SAW franchise (another very well-done series of scary movies). As well as the conjuring of course. He has greatly helped reshape supernatural horror.

    Ed and Loraine warren the main characters of these films are played by actors, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Patrick is an American actor known for not only horror but also dramatic roles. He has appeared in many major films and TV shows. Wilson brings warmth to Ed Warren bringing a caring personality to a very scary setting. His performance in these movies has greatly shaped their success. Now, Vera is an award-winning American actress. She is known well for her emotional depth and her intensity on screen. She brings immense compassion to the movie series and has shaped the movies to be what they are.

    
    In this film paranormal investigators Ed and Loraine Warren come out of retirement when the Smurl family starts to experience paranormal activity that is attached to an antique mirror in their home. The film also shows pregnant Loraine and deep dives on her paranormal experiences while she was pregnant. (All based on real events)

    *This film made $83 million in its opening weekend which is the highest ever for a horror film in the United States.  And $495 million worldwide*

    In the other films that Wan has directed such as, Insidious he uses flashy demons as well as entities that are a deep red color. He uses many fast-paced jumps. Whereas, in the conjuring movies he has long takes as well as more silence and built-up tension. I have seen both of these films and so I can see the difference in his directing within these. He is very talented when it comes so making movies that have a mood of their own. In the conjuring he has more family centered drama than his other films as well. In another one of his films, SAW he focuses more on the survival aspect which I have also seen which sets a very different tone from his other films. I watched an interview that Wan was a part of where he said, "I like to keep CGI as minimal as possible...generally live working with as much as practical as I could."He also described how modern CGI was used to erase more modern things such as cell towers to preserve the 1970s feeling.

    The conjuring series is unique in the way that it blends in true story with supernatural fiction. Most horror films are either fully supernatural or completely fiction. For example, the film paranormal activity is completely fiction but filmed in a way that looks totally factual and real. The conjuring also uses its historical feel rather than just being fully staged.

    Some of the biggest strengths among the conjuring 4 are the lead performances and how strong they are. Patrick Wilson plays the role of Ed Loraine extremely well and brings strong emotion to the film. The film also gave us conjuring fans great full circle closer in this film and really brought us all to the ending that we needed in this emotional rollercoaster of a story. Although on the downside, I would say that they were a little bit predictable with the ending of the film and maybe could have been a little more detailed. I feel that there may have been one too many sub plots as well while they did add to the story, I feel that it left more room for confusion. I would say that the movie itself is pretty good but the franchise and the movies all as a whole is what makes this story and plot so phenomenal. This movie along with all of the sub plots and all of the movies before it will not be forgotten and left a great mark on the horror film industry.

    The critics have some mixed thoughts and opinions on this film. Matt Zoller-RogerEbert.com says, "She has impeccable craft...radiates a life force...you believe it when she plays a character who sees, feels, and understands more than almost anyone else around. He is talking about Vera and her acting in this film that brings deep emotion to the film. The Guardian says, "stubbornly resistant to change", saying that the conjuring franchise is not evolving as heavily as needed. They also say that once was a strength but that now it seems to almost be a liability. NME says, "drags on like a demon who will not take the hint." They are using a play on the film and saying the film is acting as one of the demons that is within it and will just not give up. I believe that this could also be a strength though in the way that they continue to make films to bring closure to the story.

    

    Leading up to the release of the film I was seeing ads all over TikTok and seeing people posting all about how excited they were to go see it. I was even seeing people on TikTok after seeing the film saying great things about it, I feel as though this is the reason that they did so well the weekend that it came out. My sister and boyfriend went with me to see it and were very fond of the movie we are all very happy with how the story went because we are big horror movie fans.

    Doing this film evaluation on the conjuring 4 has deeply helped me to understand how well this film really did and also what people truly thought of it. It also helped me to understand why it was all over my phone and everyone was raving about it all of the month of September this year. I also was very satisfied with my findings and I liked reading through the judgements from professionals so that I could see what people who do this all the time really think of this film. I also really loved getting to see the interview of the director it gave me a great insight on who he really is and his real love for film making. I am deeply satisfied with all of my findings and what I have learned from this deep dive into this movie.

LINKS:

-https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=9c7328ae167ef50ef0693768f499145d1062b86db24395b4aba356824b7f4e03JmltdHM9MTc2Mzc2OTYwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=140fdd82-8413-6d10-3783-ce7085a96c16&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9VGhlK2Nvbmp1cmluZys0K3RyYWlsb3ImJm1pZD1EQjgzQkVBOEYxNjZCMERDREFFOURCODNCRUE4RjE2NkIwRENEQUU5JkZPUk09VkFNR1pD

-https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ed0d31ba91d976253db04df7fab19234059c88fb2c8d1bd38be3333cf2a2f613JmltdHM9MTc2Mzc2OTYwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=140fdd82-8413-6d10-3783-ce7085a96c16&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9dGhlK2Nvbmp1cmluZytkaXJlY3RvcitpbnRlcnZpd2UraW50ZXJ2aWV3K1dhbiYmbWlkPTM5QTMyNDA0NzAzOEYzQ0Y2M0I1MzlBMzI0MDQ3MDM4RjNDRjYzQjUmRk9STT1WQU1HWkM

-https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=150664530dd3a41628b71e43f03b50b041123b86988f789bd1352a7697733112JmltdHM9MTc2Mzc2OTYwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=140fdd82-8413-6d10-3783-ce7085a96c16&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9VGhlK2Nvbmp1cmluZytlZCthbmQrbG9yYWluZSthY3RvcnMraW50ZXJ2aWV3JiZtaWQ9OUE0MjdCREM1NTE4MDFFNTM5NzE5QTQyN0JEQzU1MTgwMUU1Mzk3MSZGT1JNPVZBTUdaQw