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The Conjuring Last Rites Movie Review: The Conjuring franchise has been a horror series with diminishing returns when it comes to scares. James Wan gave the franchise a good kickstart with his fictionalised take on a real-life couple of paranormal investigators (whom more rational-minded folk might deem frauds... but in this universe where ghosts truly exist, they are heroes). It is on the goodwill of the first two Conjuring films that we now have a franchise of four Conjuring movies, three Annabelle movies, two Nun movies, and one Curse of La Llorona that even the franchise isn't too keen to talk about. ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Special Preview: Famous Horror Franchise To Screen in India on September 4; Fans To Get Early Screams Before the Final Chapter Releases on September 5.
Unfortunately, James Wan has largely left the director's chair, preferring to stay on only as a producer and take occasional story credit. With even David F Sandberg - who helmed the franchise's most decent spin-off, Annabelle: Creation - having moved on, the downslide is really telling. The most recent entry, The Conjuring: Last Rites, is directed by Michael Chaves, who previously directed The Curse of La Llorona (2019), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), and The Nun II (2023). So, colour me sceptical about keeping my hopes low for this one. But boy oh boy, I'm very glad I did!
The Conjuring: Last Rites is said to be the last mainline film in the franchise. This is certainly going to make money, so I doubt it will be the last 'last'. It may, however, be the last to feature the Warrens - there is a moment near the end that pays homage to the couple's cinematic journey (I just had to keep explaining the significance of that scene to my seat-mate).
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' Movie Review - The Plot
The movie begins in 1964, where the Warrens, in the prime of their youth, handle their first demonic case involving a cursed mirror. It goes horribly wrong for a pregnant Lorraine, who nearly loses her daughter. We then jump ahead to 1986, to the Smurl family in Pennsylvania. At their teenage daughter's holy confirmation, her grandparents gift her the very same mirror.
Watch the Trailer of 'The Conjuring: Last Rites':
You know the drill by now. But wait, the Warrens have taken a hiatus from ghost-hunting following Ed's heart attack in the previous movie. Their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson), now an adult, pays them a visit with her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy), and both mother and daughter experience strange visions connected to the haunting in Pennsylvania.
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' Movie Review - Where's the Spooks?
When you go in for a Conjuring movie, what do you expect? Good scares? Terrifying spectral entities? A rollicking good time where you laugh or shout to hide your fear? What about some nice family drama? No? Tough luck, because you are in for some family bonding time. Last Rites purportedly shows the 'case' that shook the Warrens so much they took retirement. So you'd expect them to be handling their most terrifying haunting to date.
I am not exactly someone who watches horror films with his eyes wide open - when the spooky scenes arrive, my eyes automatically squint shut. Yet this may be the first horror film in recent memory where I found myself craving for a ghost to pop up.
It's not that The Conjuring: Last Rites is devoid of scares, but they are few and far between. Visually, the film has moments of intrigue - particularly night scenes that seem lit as an homage to The Exorcist. But style can’t mask the lack of substance. Or in this case, good scares.
Most of the early acts are dedicated to build-ups with very little payoff. Sure, a couple of the scares are effective, like the Susie doll scene with the child (which the trailer sadly ruined). Otherwise, the scares rarely come by. This is crazy because there were some terrifying opportunities here to amp up the horror, but even when a good spook is built up, the scene either turns out to be a no-show or it just cuts away. I also can't help but feel that the novelty is missing when it comes to the horror scenes; most feel recycled from previous films.
The family here is also not very keenly explored. There is this dinner table scene where one of the daughters gets angry with her father for not doing much to stop the hauntings, and she tells him that he doesn't understand what she has gone through. There is this hint of something very disturbing that has happened to her. Unfortunately, that's mostly reduced to guesswork, as the ghosts here mostly spend playing peekaboo.
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' Movie Review - Boring Family Dynamics
Instead, The Conjuring: Last Rites is more invested in showing us the loving dynamics of the Warren family, who are about to add a new member. Look, I didn't mind the previous Conjuring film showing the beginning of Ed and Lorraine's love story; in fact, that felt like the better part of the (bland) movie. Perhaps that's because I had already seen the fictionalised couple for three films before (not counting the other cameos). But I prefer to learn about the Warrens through the hauntings they investigate, not the other way around, which is this film's main focus.
The real-life Warrens were a dodgy couple from what I've read, but for the sake of the thrills these films provide, I don't mind their fictionalised versions tackling demons and evil spirits. But when you try to add kitschy family drama and expect a viewer who is simply in it for a frighteningly good time to care, you're asking too much.
Some of the drama doesn't make sense, either. It's not clear why Judy is so intent on not telling her mother about her visions, considering Lorraine would understand better than anyone. Yes, the film offers the lame excuse that she didn't want her mother to worry, but when you're being tormented by an evil hag who gets inside your bridal dress, that's the time to talk to your expert mum. The Nun II Movie Review: A Conjuring Spinoff that Falls Flat with Predictable Scares and a Jumbled Plot!
Thankfully, the third act is more spook-invested, but by then you've stopped fearing the ghosts and are just glad to see them finally pop up. Unfortunately, as is often the case with this franchise, when you see these terrifying entities properly, they cease to be frightening—even if one of them is an axe-wielding ghoul. There's also some Evil Dead thrown into the climax, and since Annabelle is the franchise's poster girl, she gets randomly thrown in as well.
By the time the Warrens reach the finishing line with their new foes, it's hard not to look at your seat-mate and ask, "That's it?"
Was this the big terror that forced them into permanent retirement? What a bummer!
What saves the film is its cast, led by a wonderfully patient Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who continue to sail the franchise through its dying embers for their respective paychecks. Mia Tomlinson is fine in her role, and Ben Hardy does well as her supportive, ex-cop boyfriend. Funny story, though: when someone asks him why he left the force, he says it's a long story. When he finally reveals it, the whole tale is over in a couple of minutes.
Does this subplot make the film any better? Unless you care more about this new character than the new ghosts, the answer is no.
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' Movie Review - Final Thoughts
The Conjuring: Last Rites wants to be both a haunting farewell and an emotional family drama, but ends up neither frightening nor compelling enough. The scares feel stale, the drama clunky, and the sense of dread that once defined the franchise is largely gone. Fans may find comfort in Farmiga and Wilson’s performances, but as a swan song, this feels more like a bored whimper than a chilling last rite.
(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2025 09:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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