- Directed by: Michael Chaves
- Written by: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
- Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Mia Tomlinson
- Run Time: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMgfsdYoEEo
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Ed and Lorraine Warren are on the case again, helping out a family being harassed by supernatural forces. It’s quite long, and stuff happens. It’s on par with the quality of the previous films, and it’s said this will be the last one. If you’re a fan of the series, you are likely to enjoy this one as well.
Spoilery Synopsis
We hear a recording from 1964. Ed and Lorraine Warren interview a woman who talks about her father’s suicide and what came after. Pregnant Lorraine goes into the “haunted” room and offers to help the spirit. Something in there affects her baby, and they rush to the hospital. It’s all very intense. Suddenly, the lights go out, and Lorraine senses that there’s something bad in the delivery room with her. The baby is stillborn– no, it wakes up and cries!
We then get a montage of them taking care of baby Judy. The little girl cries because she keeps seeing horrible things, just like her mother.
It’s 1986 in Pennsylvania. The Smurl family goes to church for Heather’s Confirmation. It’s a large family, and they all seem to get along. Someone gives Heather a creepy old mirror as a gift; it’s straight out of “Oculus” (2013). Grandma says “It was almost like it was waiting for us.” All of a sudden, the ceiling collapses on Heather. Credits roll.
Ed and Lorraine are giving a lecture about “Annabelle” (2014). All the audience wants to talk about is “Ghostbusters” (1984). Judy tries to cheer them up after. They quit “busting” because of Ed’s bad heart. Lorraine and Judy sense something weird at their dinner.
At the Smurl house, Janet does laundry and senses something weird in the basement. Something plays with her telephone cord. One of the little girls gets a scare with her doll. They all sit down for dinner, and Kevin and I decide this family needs some casualties– there are just too many of them.
Heather comments that her mirror is creeping her out; the little baby heads always seem to be watching her. She and her sister Dawn carry the mirror out to the garbage. The next morning, the garbage men toss it into the back of the truck, and it’s crushed. Inside, Dawn starts coughing and vomits blood and broken glass all over the kitchen.
Ed’s doctor warns him about the next heart attack. They have a birthday party for him later. Judy is there with her boyfriend Tony. Father Gordon is there, he used to work with her parents. Brad Hamilton is there, he worked with them as well.
Judy “sees” something, and Tony asks about it. Lorraine notices that Judy’s been seeing things more often recently, and she warns her daughter that she needs to practice shutting it all out. Not long after, Tony proposes awkwardly to Judy. At the end of the day, Father Gordon says he’s had calls asking for Ed and Lorraine’s help, which they turn down.
The Smurls aren’t so happy anymore; they’re all arguing about the ghosts in their house. Jack, the father, doesn’t believe in what’s been going on, but Heather has no doubts. That night, Jack gets a reason to believe. So does Heather. What do they do? They call in reporters for the news which attracts Father Gordon.
Gordon goes through the house, spraying holy water that boils. He knows this is something real and escalates it through the church. He doesn’t live long after that.
Ed gives Tony a tour of his basement full of cursed objects. They hear about Gordon’s death and go to the funeral. Gordon’s boss comes to the Warrens and mentions to Judy where Gordon died.
Judy then goes to the Smurl house, and Ed, Tom, and Lorraine aren’t far behind. Lorraine knows how bad it is inside and insists they leave, but Judy insists on staying and helping. Tom tells Ed why he isn’t a cop anymore. Lorraine identifies three spirits that lived here back when it was farmland. There’s something else there too, demonic, hiding behind the three spirits.
Judy goes to the attic and sees the big haunted mirror, still there. She sees, “Miss me?” on the wall and thinks it’s Annabelle. Annabelle then chases her around the room.
Ed and Lorraine go upstairs and see the mirror, which they recognize from the opening sequence. They tell the Smurls the whole story before gearing up for a climactic exorcism.
Judy gets possessed and trashes the family dog. That escalated quickly.
Ed fights Judy while Lorraine fights the ghosts. She decides that the mirror has always wanted Judy since before she was born. They find Judy hanging in the attic, and cutting her down isn’t as easy as it sounds. Ed has a heart attack halfway through the resuscitation and Tony has to take over.
The mirror starts spinning, but Ed gets it to stop. Stuff happens as the demons and ghosts appear and threaten everyone. Lorraine and Judy have to work together to make the monsters go away. The whole family looks relieved that it took all of them to defeat an evil mirror.
We are told that the Smurls lived in the house three more years, all uneventful. Ed put the evil mirror in his basement with the other evil toys.
We cut to Tony and Judy’s wedding. Lorraine talks about her vision of the future, and it seems like a clear wrap-up to the series with happy endings all around.
Brian’s Commentary
I get so confused between this and the “Insidious” series and get all the characters mixed up– every time I see one or the other. That said, the whole series is well made, looks good, and has decent acting. The real problem is that the plots are all so bland and generic. These are horror movies for people who don’t generally watch horror and have nothing much with which to compare them.
It clearly sets up for a sequel with Judy and Tony, who parallel her parents’ abilities. It never got boring, but there weren’t really any surprises or anything new here. It was fine.
Kevin’s Commentary
The movies in this series lose me right at the beginning when they say it’s based on true events. I don’t believe the Warrens’ experiences with the occult, or any of their cases, were real.
I think they made a mistake casting Patrick Wilson in both this series and the “Insideous” movies, it makes them even harder to tell apart when they all start running together. And they do run together.
This one is okay. They all are okay. This is said to be the last movie in the series. I’m okay with that.
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