By Fiel Gia Ramada
Filipino moviegoers proved once again that they love a good jumpscare. The Conjuring: Last Rites creeped into cinemas on September 3, and became the biggest opening day ever for a horror film in the Philippines.
Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed the film also claimed the highest-grossing midnight screening in Philippine history, with fans lining up for its 12:00 a.m. showings nationwide.
TThe R-16 finale of the Conjuring franchise made history in the Philippines, scoring the biggest opening day ever for a horror film and beating the record once held by Final Destination: Bloodlines.
The ninth and final chapter sees Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren working on their one last case.
Directed by Michael Chaves and produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, the movie marks the end of a franchise that has earned more than two billion across the globe.
After more than a decade of jumpscares, The Conjuring: Last Rites marks its final chapter with a record breaking history, and the people behind it are looking back with bittersweet emotions.
Producer Peter Safran calls the finale “the end of something beautiful,” while creator James Wan describes it as “the end of an era” and credits Wilson and Farmiga’s great chemistry on and off screen. “They come for the fright and the scares, but they really stick around for Vera and Patrick,” Wan says.
Director Michael Chaves, who is also the one behind The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Nun II, says that he felt so lucky to be part of the “Conjuring Universe.” He also thanked Wilson and Farmiga for being the “heart and soul” of the movies. “It’s their talent and who they are as people that have shaped these movies from the start,” he said.
“These films ended up being family stories in a way not a lot of people expected – big family stories with plenty of scares,” he shares, adding that saying goodbye to the experience has been “really emotional.”
The Conjuring: Last Rites is currently showing in cinemas nationwide.
