TMW #85: The Conjuring: Last Rites, On Swift Horses and Borderline reviewed
Plus the week's biggest trailers including Wuthering Heights and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
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The Conjuring: Last Rites
15, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Pennsylvania, 1986: there’s something strange in the Smurl household, yanking on telephone cords, making dolls levitate and inducing projectile vomiting at the breakfast table. As a news report has it, “The Devil has come to Pennsylvania” - and it seems to be residing in a sinister antique mirror… Who ya gonna call? Yep, real-life paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga).
It takes a fair while before husband and wife swing into action, though. This being the purported wrap-up of the core Conjuring series, fourquel Last Rites shoots for a fond farewell, giving us extra helpings of Warren family history (at some expense to the Smurls, who aren’t as well developed as the bedevilled families of the first and second Conjurings).
A 1964 prologue shows us a young Ed and Lorraine, with the latter enduring a hellish labour sparked by the very same mirror hounding the Smurls. Twenty-two years on, the Warrens’ now-grown daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is happily engaged to ex-police officer Tony (Ben Hardy), but experiencing visions as frightful as those that regularly visit Mum.
“Our family is not like other families,” Lorraine warns Tony, yet the first half frequently indulges in a cosy, familiar, sitcom-y vibe, as the young man attempts to ingratiate himself with his future in-laws. Hardy proves a welcome addition to the fold: his awkward dynamic with a wary Ed yields chuckles, while the scene where he recounts exactly why he’s no longer a police officer is disarmingly poignant.
The increased focus on Judy - previously most prominent in spin-off Annabelle Comes Home - enhances the sense that this time it’s personal, yet Last Rites ultimately ends up being business as usual. Jump scares arrive at predictable intervals, the new monsters are rather old hat and apart from the odd nod to Howard Jones, The Goonies and, yes, Ghostbusters, there’s not much of a period-specific ambience.
Thankfully, franchise veteran Michael Chaves - who also directed Conjuring-verse entry The Nun II and the series-adjacent Curse of La Llorona - ups his game from 2021’s deathly dull The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Most of those jump scares are well-orchestrated - trying on a wedding dress hasn’t been this fraught since Bridesmaids - and he gets good chill-mileage from rocking chairs, unlit larders and John Wayne posters.
And if, as presented here, the true-life Smurl case only rarely feels like more than light exorcise for the Warrens, Wilson and Farmiga dive in with the same stalwart conviction that’s underpinned the series since its 2013 beginnings. (Matthew Leyland)
THE VERDICT A loooong goodbye to the Warrens that’s often more effective as soap opera than scare flick, but still with the power to make you cower.
STAY FOR THE END CREDITS? Casual fans might want to skip the usual montage of real-life clips and pics, but die-hards should stick it out for the post-credits resolution of one nominal mystery…
BE OUR GUEST Pay attention to one family gathering awash with cameos, including one from series mastermind James Wan.
On Swift Horses
15, in cinemas now
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
There’s something determinedly unpretentious about On Swift Horses: even that slightly stilted title is quickly rendered literal. A throwback to sweeping melodramas that gallops at a modern pace, this is a handsomely crafted piece of work, with an evocative sense of time and place, and it makes effective use of its scorching-hot cast. In 50s Kansas, married couple Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) are living in the farmhouse she inherited from her mother. In saunters Lee’s brother, Julius (Jacob Elordi), discharged from the Korean War, and both husband and wife are clearly besotted with him in their own way. Lee has plans for them all to start a new life together in California, but wayward Julius is hard to pin down when it comes to grand plans.
Muriel and Lee do move to California, but the film’s dual plots don’t follow the most obvious path you’d predict based on the opening scenes. To say more wouldn’t necessarily be spoilerific, but it’d reveal more than the marketing has. This vintage vision of Americana is unsubtle, but in the hands of the committed cast it doesn’t feel heavy-handed. There’s something almost comforting about its straightforward signifiers: an isolated housewife plays solitaire; poker, with its inherent emphasis on luck and gambling, neatly parallels the reckless characters that play it. If one character approaches another while wearing a sweaty vest or seductively eating an olive, they will be having sex.
Director Daniel Minahan is best known for some of this century’s peak TV (Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Game of Thrones) and he steers On Swift Horses unshowily between its Christmas bookends. The score and music choices - including original number ‘Song for Henry’ - are on the nose, but no less effective for it. And the casting is a showcase for a new generation of talent with old-school heft; Diego Calva (so good in Babylon) and Sasha Calle (The Flash’s Supergirl) are additional bright sparks. Tenderly played, and at times, swooningly romantic, this is a safe bet offering generous returns. (Matt Maytum)
BY THE BOOK On Swift Horses is based on the novel of the same name by Shannon Pufahl, who was inspired by her grandmother’s experiences of gambling in the 50s.
Borderline
15, available on digital download from 8 September
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Loosely inspired by a stalker who targeted Madonna in the 90s, Borderline is a shallow but entertaining comedy thriller about a pop star and a psychotic fan. Produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment, the film is written and directed by Jimmy Warden (screenwriter of Cocaine Bear) and stars Samara Weaving as Sofia, the singing sensation who has recently completed a world tour. The stalker is Paul Duerson (Ray ‘son of Jack’ Nicholson). He’s dangerously deluded, and in a cold open he’s seen arriving at Sofia’s LA home, believing they’re in a relationship (he’s about to propose). After that failed attempt to get close to her he’s locked up, and the film picks up six months later when he escapes to retry his plan.
Warden directs with wit and some swagger, using time jumps, title cards and snappy edits, but not obnoxiously. He also elicits game performances from the cast. Nicholson is clearly unafraid of nepo-baby comparisons with his maniacal grinning, and Eric Dane is good value as the security guard who has to place himself in harm’s way despite his daughter’s disapproval. Alba Baptiste also captures the unhinged tone, bringing Harley Quinn-esque energy to Penny, one of Paul’s murderous acolytes. She’s mainly either attempting to kill someone or performing a Celine Dion duet with them.
For all the fitful fun, though, there’s little in the way of substance. There’s not really enough background texture to the world for Weaving to convince as a pop megastar, we’re just told she is (“Do I look like Madonna?” she says knowingly at one point). It also doesn’t feel like it has much to say about parasocial relationships or stardom, and never feels truly tense or thrilling - the yo-yoing tone is more comfortable in the comedic swings. That said, it’s a briskly entertaining 95 mins, and ends on an impressive closing shot in the Long Good Friday tradition. (Matt Maytum)
HAPPY COUPLE Jimmy Warden and Samara Weaving are married in real life, having met on the set of The Babysitter (2017).
Also released:
Honey Don’t!
15, in cinemas now
Ethan Coen’s latest film sans Joel looks to be very much in the vein of his last, Drive-Away Dolls. It’s a kooky crime caper starring Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans, and reviews have been decidedly mixed - it’s on 48% on Rotten Tomatoes…
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet’s Oscar-winning epic is one of the best films of the year so far, and hits Sky Cinema today. Read our five-star review from back in January…
Trailer Club
There’s a moor, moor, moor approach to the first teaser for Emerald Fennell’s take on “Wuthering Heights”, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from Emily Brontë’s classic novel being given a Saltburn spin. The casting of former Chanel ad co-stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff has been contentious, but they certainly look the part here, all breathlessly tight bodices and saturated shirts. This trailer is very much a mood piece, with the wild and windy trappings paired with sensual close-ups of kneaded dough and fingers in various mouths. There’s also the promise of original Charlie XCX music to soundtrack, and you hear the first snippet here. In UK cinemas 13 February 2026.
Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite went down a storm at the Venice Film Festival…
Can the MCU’s flagging fortunes be revived by ultraviolent animation Marvel Zombies? Featuring Blade, Yelena, Shang-Chi, Ant-Man and more…
A NEW TRAILER FOR AVATAR! Yes, it’s the trailer for the 3D re-release of The Way of Water, hitting cinemas for a limited engagement next month…
Rejoicify! There’s plenty of fresh footage crammed into this 30s teaser for Wicked: For Good…
Glen Powell does a “Mrs. Doubtfire, but with football” in the first trailer for sports-comedy Disney+ series, Chad Powers…
Raise a pint of the black stuff for the first look at Netflix’s Peaky Blinders with booze series, House of Guinness…
Slough House is put into lockdown in the first look at Apple TV+’s fifth season of breakout hit Slow Horses…
Jim Jarmusch has assembled an astonishing ensemble - Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps and more - for anthology film Father Sister Mother Brother…
Hold the line: Ethan Hawke’s The Grabber is seemingly back from the dead in the new trailer for Black Phone 2…
Is that something in our eye? No, we’ve just watched the trailer for upcoming documentary John Candy: I Like Me…
Hot on the heels of this year’s 28 Years Later, here’s the official trailer for sequel The Bone Temple. Well, it would’ve been cruel to make us wait to much longer to find out what happens next after the truly unhinged final scene of 28YL. In this atmospheric and blood-pumping tease for what’s next, there’s a look at Jack O’Connell’s Savile-inspired gang, the Jimmies, and Ralph Fiennes’ doctor continues to have a prominent role. No look at a returning Cillian Murphy yet, mind. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is directed by Nia DaCosta, and hits UK cinemas on 16 January 2026.
On the Wingman office stereo this week…
It’s impossible to here the title of the Madonna-thriller without being earwormed by the track of the same name. Here’s a Manic Street Preachers cover version (on account of Matt being inspired by a new book about the band dropping soon)…
As someone who really enjoyed the Laurence Olivier Wuthering Heights and Saltburn I would be interested to see how ingredients of both of those films come together. Also Marvel Zombies looks like it could be much more intense than your typical Marvel series
Hmmmm. As a huge fan of Wuthering Heights this trailer has me worried. I'm really unsure about the casting and the trailer has not won me over.