The Last Rites of the Conjuring was a fitting send off to the legend of the Warrens.

Why would you touch that? Why would you hold that? Why would you go in there? Why would you go up there? Why would you go down there? Why would you go out there? All questions I'm sure we ask ourselves when we watch movies from the Conjuring universe.

James Wan returns to direct the fourth and final installment of the Conjuring series cause Last Rites gives it a spectacular close. As a self-professed horror movie aficionado it's easy for me to say that following the infamous exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren has been incredibly entertaining. It's also led to one of the most complete supernatural anthologies in modern horror movie history.

But there's something we need to unpack here. The demons rarely attack these unwitting families and keep the terror in house. They're almost like bait – to entice the Warrens into these paranormal battles. So now we're left with an uncomfortable question. Are the Warrens really helping anybody or carrying out a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Using every single horror movie trope available to mankind from mirrors, to creepy dolls and of course the incredible use of shadows – the writing trio of Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick effectively reintroduced some of the most beloved (weird word used for things that bring nightmares) demons and ghouls from the series. They also broke one of the most effectively used traditions in the Conjure-Verse – yes, I just coined that. 

For the first time in the series we get to see a glimpse of the Warrens as they begin their journey into the underworld. The up and coming Orion Smith and Madison Lawler play a young Ed and Lorraine Warren – relative unknowns before this movie dropped, I'm sure they put themselves on the map in their intense opening sequence. Madison brought all of the fierce intensity to Lorraine Warren while highlighting the vulnerability of a young woman starting a family. Orion gave us a glimpse into how a young Ed handled adversity and tragedy – showing events that make him an honorable and courageous man throughout the series. 

Fast forward to 1986, in a post-Exorcist world where the knife claws of Freddy Krueger and the blood covered machetes of Jason Voorhees redefined the horror genre. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson come together one more time to play the battle-tested and war-torn Warrens who we join living out their golden years with their daughter Judy Warren played by Mia Tomlinson. The world feels lived-in, the team is familiar, and the Warrens make all of us feel like we're a part of the family – haunted closet and all. 

This time the Warrens are compelled to protect the Smurls – whose suffering feels more like a chess move than a random occurrence. Terrifying visuals ensue and intelligent directing by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona, The Nun). The daughters, it's always the daughters.  Heather Smurl played by Kila Lord Cassidy (most recently seen in Spiked, and Salvable), and  Beau Gadson who portrayed Dawn Smurl were given the spotlight and they crushed it. Michael Chaves used tight close-ups in emotionally heightened scenes giving the actresses intense, visceral moments. 

Notwithstanding all of the most horrid, devilish, hateful demons that seem to crawl out of the depths of hell for the Warrens – the Conjure-verse always has heart. They always manage to create beautiful moments of connection and humanity through some depressingly morbid content. This makes the horror so much more compelling because of how lovable Ed and Lorraine are. 

But it's also blinded us to a glaring unspoken truth. Are these families in this series just pawns being used by manipulative demons to try and get to the soul of Lorraine Warren? Did Lorraine make an unexpected deal with something from the hereafter that's been trying to collect it's debt? Has all of this pain and suffering been for nothing?!? (Sorry I get dramatic sometimes.)

If this is the final installment of the Conjuring I think it's a great way to end it. This franchise has given us 4 memorable movies that will go down in every collectors top ten list. And the fans obviously think so too – pulling in over $330 million dollars globally on a $55 million dollar budget. That's a gift and a curse because you never want to go back to the well too many times and end up with a Jason X swinging machetes in space.