Jonah Naplan September 5, 2025
The trajectory of the “Conjuring” franchise has been amusing to watch over the last twelve years because the filmmakers have fully committed themselves to turning these movies into overly serious “horror blockbusters” that, when put together, create an elaborate cinematic universe. Directed by franchise-favorite Michael Chaves, the newest entry into the series is “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” another ambitious, entirely self-motivated horror outing that treats a ping pong match with the same intensity as a confrontation with the devil.
It’s supposedly the final adventure for husband-and-wife paranormal experts Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), who came out of retirement in 1986 to investigate the evil plaguing a family home in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Like the other “Conjuring” movies, this one is also “based on a true story,” although that claim has been refuted time and again by some of the historical victims who instead assert that this franchise is about 5% truth and 95% fiction. The absurdity of the plot of “Last Rites” would again confirm that such a claim is just a marketing gimmick. The opening title card of a “Conjuring” movie has become iconic because it overdramatizes the reality of whatever actually happened but is effective enough to have you convinced some of this might be real.
The family in “Last Rites” is based on the real-life Smurl family who called out for help after purchasing an antique mirror with creepy woodwork that caused a series of strange happenings around their home. Dad (Elliot Cowan) and Mom (Rebecca Calder) are skeptical about the existence of paranormal activity, but their oldest child Dawn (Beau Gadsdon) speaks for all their daughters when she urges them to take it seriously. It’s a relief these characters are interesting because we spend just as much time with them as we do with the Warrens, who are dealing with a family crisis of their own. Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) nearly died when she was born, and so her parents have been overly protective of her ever since. Even as an adult, there’s tension about the prospect of her marrying her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy), a nice, decent guy who means well but couldn’t possibly understand who exactly this family is and everything they’ve been through. Lorraine begins fairly open and loving, while Ed is more cold and reserved, but it’s not a spoiler to say that by the end they’ll both learn to be accepting of an outsider who can truly offer their daughter the whole world.
Director Michael Chaves has worked in this territory several times before with “The Curse of La Llorona,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” and “The Nun II,” but “Last Rites” is his best one yet by far. It helps that the screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Ian B. Goldberg, and Richard Naing is genuinely interested in developing the characters and exploring how it’s much easier to overcome trauma and personal demons (in this case, literal ones) when you do it as a family. The filmmakers have put real consideration into how different generations of people might respond in the face of danger and that sometimes there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to react.
I mentioned before that these movies are ambitious. “Last Rites” is probably the most ambitious one yet. At 135 minutes, it’s the longest and “biggest” movie in the franchise, taking its time to establish the setting, the characters, and, the main reason why we go to see a “Conjuring” film, the frights. There’s a handful of wonderfully executed jumpscares throughout the movie that playfully subvert our expectations as to how they’re going to be designed. Without revealing anything, this movie experiments with axes, giants, dresses, lockets, baby dolls, attics, basements, and even the face of legendary actor John Wayne. It feels like every five minutes, Chaves digs his hand around in his toy bag and pulls out something new to play with.
Performance has never been something to rave about in this franchise, but both leads are particularly strong here. I don’t think it would be unpopular to say that Wilson hasn’t been a stand-out in these movies before, but he certainly is in “Last Rites.” His journey from the cynical dad to somebody more accepting of change is tangible all throughout “Last Rites” and the moments towards the end where he really gets to take action are powerful because we know something new has clicked. Farmiga is similarly bewitching in a role that can require a lot of her emotionally as well as physically. She’s provided the soul of this franchise for more than a decade now by being directly connected to the human world and the paranormal one. Her clairvoyant abilities that allow her to sense and communicate with spirits and demonic entities save the day again here, earning her a spot among the ranks of other iconic horror heroines. Steve Coulter’s too-brief appearance as Father Gordon is also memorable, connecting “Last Rites” not just to other “Conjuring” movies but similar films about exorcisms and demonic possession.
The late 80s aesthetic is reflected through cinematographer Eli Born’s (“Companion,” “The Boogeyman”) excellent use of video camera footage that reveals evil as much as it captures the joys of everyday family life. These sorts of tools become more than just thematic gimmicks when they’re used well. They help to tell the story and paint mundane details in a more vulnerable light. There’s an excellent moment in the movie where Dawn is scrubbing through footage of a family celebration, searching for the answer to something unexplainable. When it’s revealed, we jump back in our seats. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is one of the best examples of this essential horror principle all year, even while it has so many other things on its mind.
Now playing in theaters.