Conjuring: L'heure du jugement

I just left the cinema, and there's a lot to share. Conjuring: The Last Rite opens really strong-the beginning and build-up are amazing, with a solid story foundation that pulls you in right away. Unfortunately, the ending didn't land for me. The tension and scares were there in parts, but they never fully hit the level I was hoping for. Compared to the first movie, which is still the best in the series for me, this one falls a bit short in delivering lasting chills.

That being said, the cast was great-the actors really carried their roles well and gave strong performances. Overall, it's worth watching if you're a fan of the franchise, but the payoff at the end just didn't match the promise of its opening.

I went into this flick hoping for a grand send-off. What I got was a limp, recycled mess that felt more like a bad spin-off than the franchise's finale. The setup had promise, but the movie just dragged until the halfway point. By then, I'd already checked my watch 2 times.

The screenplay? Paper thin. Characters exist just to be spooked, and the scares are predictable jump-outs you can see a mile away. There's no tension, no atmosphere, just loud bangs and cheap tricks. At this point, you can practically set a stopwatch to when the next door will slam.

And then there's Michael Chaves. Let's be real-this isn't his first stumble. La Llorona was weak. The Devil Made Me Do It barely felt like a horror movie. The Nun II was a snooze. And now here we are again, same bag of empty tricks. He confuses loud noises for scares and speed bumps for suspense. If James Wan built this house of horror with care, Chaves has turned it into a carnival ride running out of batteries.

Who in their right mind thought that hey let's give the guy who delivered 3 trashes in a row another story to butcher? Perfect for a franchise closer.

Sure, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga do their best, as always. Their chemistry still works, but they can't carry a whole movie on their backs. A "heartfelt farewell" means nothing when the movie itself can't even scare a nervous teenager in a dark theater.

"This film is easily skippable. It has only one scene that's good at best, and even that feels like an accident in an otherwise poorly directed production. The rest is just over two hours of mind-numbing boredom, dragged down by sluggish pacing and characters you won't care about. It's just plain bad, not 'so bad it's good' funny, and for a movie trying to be a thriller, it is absolutely NOT SCARY!"

I went in with high expectations, but this final film turned out to be a letdown. The story isn't very powerful-it feels more like an extended family drama than a true Conjuring movie. What disappointed me most was that the focus shifted away from Ed and Lorraine, the heart of the franchise.

The scares rely too much on jump scares, loud noises, and crude tricks to shock the audience. They startle, but they don't deliver the bone-chilling fear that earlier Conjuring films are known for.

It's not a total waste of money or time, but as the last chapter of such a beloved franchise, it feels like a weak wrap-up. I left the theater more sorry than satisfied.

The 9th film in The Conjuring Universe and the intended finale of the saga so far, The Conjuring: Last Rites starts on a rather promising note and even features a strong first half but soon heads downhill after that to finish as another underwhelming chapter in the series. Definitely no match to the first two films but certainly an improvement over the third, this latest entry settles for a lot less than what was up for grabs.

Directed by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona & The Nun II), the story finds the Warrens taking on one last case that forces them to confront an evil from their past. Chaves never really was the right choice to helm the main stories but he does get some things right before resorting to cheap thrills. The film takes a slow-burn approach that patiently guides us towards the finale that proves to be downright forgettable.

The first two films directed by James Wan had that vintage quality, old-school flair, foreboding atmosphere & effective scares that heightened the experience. This one borrows bit of that for the build-up but fails to capitalise on it later in the story. Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga remain the glue holding this picture together and their warm chemistry helps keep things afloat for the most part but the film needed more on all fronts.

Overall, The Conjuring: Last Rites brings the Ed & Lorraine Warren journey full circle and gives them a proper send-off with its radiant epilogue but for a climactic chapter, it is disappointing without doubt. Add to that, like most instalments in the franchise, the jump scares are bland & predictable, lacking in intensity, and also devoid of the ingredients that made its predecessors stand out. In short, a lacklustre finale of The Conjuring saga.