When James Wan’s The Conjuring first hit theaters back in 2013, it was a jolt to the horror genre - a studio blockbuster that managed to combine a crowd-pleasing jump scare machine with genuine craftsmanship, atmosphere, and a strong emotional core through its central characters, Ed and Lorraine Warren. It quickly became one of the most successful horror launches of the 21st century, spawning not just sequels but a sprawling “Conjuring Universe” that has somehow stretched across several main entries, a trio of Annabelle movies, a pair of Nun spin-offs, and the since decanonized The Curse of La Llorona. The results have been all over the place, and if we’re being honest, the past several years have seen this franchise more often spinning its wheels than breaking new ground.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is positioned as the final ride with the Warrens, a supposed farewell to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s loving but perpetually haunted demon-fighting duo. That alone gives it a bit more weight than the average entry, and to director Michael Chaves’ credit, it does feel like he’s at least trying to rise to the occasion. This is Chaves’ fourth film within the franchise (after Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II), and while his track record has been spotty at best, there’s a noticeable improvement here. The problem is that even when Chaves is working at his highest level, Last Rites still can’t escape the sense of being another serviceable, by-the-numbers haunted house story from a universe that’s long since exhausted its best tricks.
The film opens on one of the Warrens’ earliest cases, back in the 1960s, with Lorraine pregnant and confronting a malicious spirit in a mirror that nearly costs her and her unborn child their lives. Rather than leaning on Hollywood’s digital de-aging effects, this intro sequence uses younger actors Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith to play the Warrens, a refreshing decision that helps sell the intensity of the moment. The result is one of the franchise’s strongest openings: a tense, well-shot set piece that doubles as the origin point for their daughter Judy’s supernatural abilities. It also leads to a surprisingly heartfelt birth sequence that underscores what’s always separated these movies from other horror universes: the humanity and emotional connection between its central family.
From there, we jump to 1986 Pennsylvania and the home of the Smurl family, a large, multigenerational Catholic household who unknowingly inherit the same cursed mirror that once terrorized the Warrens. Sure enough, the demon inside the glass sets about dismantling their lives with a steady stream of supernatural assaults. It’s standard-issue Conjuring fare - children in peril, creepy sounds in the dark, rooms swallowed by shadow - but the sheer size of the Smurl family adds some freshness, at least when the movie manages to remember them. The story spends just enough time sketching out their cramped but warm home life before chaos takes over, making the hauntings feel more disruptive and cruel.
What differentiates Last Rites from its predecessors is Judy Warren’s role in the story. Played by Mia Tomlinson, Judy has long been a background presence in the series, but here she’s drawn into the central conflict alongside her parents. The demon has unfinished business with her, and Judy’s budding powers, along with her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) who comes along for the ride, give the film a new generational angle. It’s a smart choice. The Warrens themselves are getting older, with Ed’s health in decline and Lorraine more concerned than ever about the toll their work has taken. Watching Judy struggle with whether to embrace or reject her psychic abilities adds tension, as does Lorraine’s insistence that she shut herself off from the visions entirely: “Trust me, after a lifetime of this, you don’t want it.” It feels like the filmmakers setting the stage for a potential continuation of the franchise through Judy, even if Last Rites is marketed as the final main entry.
Despite these character beats, the movie can’t resist indulging in the same repetitive rhythm that has defined too many Conjuring spin-offs. Scare sequences follow one after another with little escalation, and while a handful are staged well - Chaves makes effective use of light, shadow, and the way time slows during Lorraine and Judy’s visions - most feel like reheated leftovers. There are jump scares, of course, but few land with the inventiveness of the franchise’s best. The film also runs long, stretching past the two-hour mark with an abundance of filler (Ed’s birthday party takes up more screen time than it probably should), and the climax checks off every box in the franchise playbook: a thunderstorm raging outside, demonic growls, bodies being thrown across rooms, and the Warrens once again summoning the strength to overcome despite impossible odds. It’s all familiar, but not necessarily bad. Just uninspired.
Where Last Rites ultimately succeeds is in its closing stretch. The Smurl case, which in real life was one of the Warrens’ more controversial investigations, becomes here a turning point for the family as much as for the investigators. Ed’s health scares, Judy’s reluctant involvement, and Judy and Tony’s introduction into the fold all combine to create a sense of closure. By the end, the film has done just enough to feel like a solid sendoff to the Warrens, while leaving the door open for Judy to potentially carry on their legacy.
It’s not a great movie, but there’s a sincerity to the way it bids farewell to Ed and Lorraine that makes it more satisfying than anything in The Devil Made Me Do It. For fans who have stuck with these characters for over a decade, that may be enough. The Conjuring universe has been a franchise of diminishing returns for years now, but sometimes, every so often, it manages to conjure just enough life to remind you why it took hold in the first place. Last Rites may not totally revitalize this long-tired series, but as a final word on the Warrens, it proves decent enough to let them rest.
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' is now playing in theaters.
