What if the only house you can afford to live in is haunted?

With four films and two spin-offs (those dedicated to the Annabelle doll already The nun) which, in turn, have generated multiple sequels, The Warren File has become the dominant franchise in horror cinema of the last decade. A success underpinned by the artisanal craftsmanship of its scares, and also by a classic conception of horror, which presents an Absolute Evil with diabolical roots facing the forces of Christian good. This conservatism is the result of the debt the films owe to their source of inspiration: the couple formed by Lorraine and Ed Warren, pioneering researchers of the paranormal and practicing Catholics.

But the sympathies cultivated by the fictional couple, embodied by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, are also due to how the saga portrays a working class oppressed by anguish. It is no coincidence that the most heartfelt lament throughout the series is that of not being able to afford to live anywhere other than in a cursed house. In fact, the brand new The Warren File: The Last Rite It takes place mostly in a Pennsylvania town dominated by an imposing factory that silhouettes like a castle in the Carpathians; an ominous atmosphere that carries over to the interior of the home, besieged by spirits, which we perceive as lived-in, full of shadows, dust, and objects with esoteric potential.

This is one of the successes of a film in which Michael Chaves straightens the lost path of the previous one. Forced by the devil (which was diverted towards the thriller supernatural) and stages a climactic scare every few minutes, following the guidelines initially set by James Wan. If we measure the worth ofThe last rite In the sheer number of shocks it offers, the price of admission is more than worth it. But this doesn't make up for the fact that these are empty calories, failing to penetrate the dramatic relief that the two-and-a-quarter-hour running time aims to achieve.