The new entry in the Conjuring saga bills itself as the Warrens’ last case, with opening text and trailers building the idea of a monumental final haunting. The Conjuring: Last Rites leans into that promise, but the payoff rarely matches the marketing’s weight. What begins with momentum and a handful of genuinely effective frights gradually loses focus, leaving a satisfying emotional goodbye to the central couple but a plot that never quite reaches the stakes it hints at.
The Smurls, an old mirror, and escalating horrors
Chaves sets the main haunting in 1986 and draws on the real-life Smurl family saga. In the movie, eldest daughter Heather (Kíla Lord Cassidy) brings an antique mirror into the Pennsylvania home after her grandparents give it to her — and the house quickly turns hostile. Small disturbances become violent: ceilings collapse, family members experience terrifying visions, and one scene even turns physical with blood coughing. The family tries to dispose of the mirror, but the object proves stubbornly anchored to the haunting, driving much of the film’s early urgency.
Strong scares early on — and clever visual work
Director Michael Chaves, who returns after previous Conjuring-universe efforts, stages some of the film’s best moments in the Smurls’ house. A seemingly ordinary afternoon of chores becomes unnerving when Janet (Rebecca Calder) performs domestic tasks while the environment around her frays imperceptibly; that sequence builds tension by refusing to rush the creeping dread. A basement scene — a presence looming in the dark — uses shadow and composition to excellent effect, and the film makes bold use of multiple antagonistic forces inside the house, including a particularly violent, axe-wielding spirit. For devoted franchise viewers, Last Rites also includes one of the more memorable Annabelle appearances the series has produced.
The Warrens arrive late — and the film splits in two
Where Last Rites loses momentum is in its structure. A prologue implies the Warrens already have some history with the mirror, yet the movie spends a long stretch with Ed and Lorraine essentially off-screen. The couple’s absence creates the sense of two parallel movies: one following the Smurl family’s escalating nightmare, and another focused on the Warrens at home. That home-front storyline centers on their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson), who’s inherited her mother’s ability to sense the supernatural. Her experiences — including a tense fitting-room scene surrounded by mirrors — are effective in isolation, but the film’s reluctance to bring these threads together early on makes the eventual union feel anticlimactic. By the time the Warrens step into the case, much of the initial energy has dissipated, and Heather’s role is diminished in the third act after beginning the film as a clear focal point.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga remain the film’s beating heart
Even when the plot falters, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga keep the movie grounded. Their chemistry — goofy, tender, and sincere — has anchored the Conjuring franchise since 2013, and it remains a highlight here. The actors portray Ed and Lorraine as a team defined by affection and mutual trust; they bring warmth to quieter moments and credibility to the film’s supernatural confrontations. The film also introduces Ben Hardy as Tony Spera, Judy’s supportive boyfriend, and Mia Tomlinson as the younger Judy; both add sympathetic performances that help the family scenes land.
Direction, lineage, and tonal choices
James Wan, who launched the series with the first two Conjuring films, retains a story credit on Last Rites, but Michael Chaves directs. Chaves has carried several franchise entries — including The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II — and his eye for atmosphere has noticeably strengthened since his early Conjuring outings. He composes several genuinely scary set pieces and leans into visual motifs — mirrors, shadow, and doubling — that reinforce the film’s themes. Unfortunately, the film’s pacing choices and its tendency to delay the central collision between the Warrens and the Smurls keep Last Rites from delivering a consistently satisfying narrative arc.
The myth versus the movie — legacy and lingering questions
The Conjuring films have always sat at the crossroads of horror entertainment and disputed real-world claims. Last Rites continues that tradition: it dramatises stories that families and investigators reported, while the truth behind those accounts remains debated. The cinematic Warrens — as embodied by Wilson and Farmiga — offer a compelling onscreen partnership that has become the emotional core of the universe, even as the historical record and contentious allegations about the real-life couple complicate the legacy those films dramatise.
Final take: a bittersweet goodbye with missed opportunities
All told, The Conjuring: Last Rites gives longtime fans the couple they’ve cheered for across multiple films and delivers several creative, effective scares — especially early on. But the movie’s split focus, delayed convergence of storylines, and unfulfilled hints at something monumental mean it rarely lives up to its “final case” promise. It’s a warm, at times scary, send-off for beloved characters — just not the explosive final chapter many trailers suggested. The Conjuring: Last Rites opens in theaters Sept. 5.
