PLOT: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
REVIEW: I’ve been a fan of The Conjuring since the beginning. Even the spinoffs have their own charm to them, but there’s nothing quite like Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga taking on spirits to get the heart pumping. Do I think that they’re representative of what Ed and Lorraine Warren actually got up to? Absolutely not. But they’re fun possession films that love to show off ghostly imagery. They’ve devolved a bit into a jump scare franchise, but I still get a kick out of how they present the scares for the most part. But what about the latest, and seemingly “final” outing?
The Conjuring: Last Rites sees a family in Pennsylvania getting haunted by the presence of a few malicious spirits. And who else to turn to? Ghostbu–I mean, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Despite being essentially retired, the two take on the case as it turns out it involves a case that they’d originally abandoned decades prior. It’s pretty by-the-numbers, and the movie essentially plays like a greatest hits of Conjuring moments, with plenty of callbacks to other cases. While unlikely to sway non-believers of the franchise, those who are on board should continue to like where the story ends up. Just wish we could have had a bit more originality instead of the story constantly feeling like a retread of the other films.
Farmiga and Wilson continue to have so much chemistry that it practically bursts through the screen. I could watch these two, just hang out for two hours, and find some enjoyment in it. They are the heart and soul of this franchise and always have been. But this is really more of an ensemble, and their daughter Judy (played by Mia Tomlinson) seems to get more screentime. And it’s not a surprise, as it really feels like they’re setting her up to take over the franchise. She and Ben Hardy‘s Tony make for a decent couple (though Hardy’s British accent slips through a few times), but no one can replace Ed and Lorraine. But I wouldn’t be upset to see them take the reins if Wan and company want to go that route.
One of my favorite parts of the Conjuring-verse is how it introduces the audience to tremendous young actors. The two standouts here are Beau Gadsdon and Kíla Lord Cassidy, the two older sisters of the family haunted in the film, the Smurls. They both do a great job. I also really liked that, rather than de-aging Wilson and Farmiga, younger actors were cast for the younger versions of them. We really need to go back to that approach versus going for the de-aging tech at every turn. It worked out so much better here, with Madison Lawlor in particular giving a great performance as young Lorraine.
James Wan’s absence from the series has been sorely felt, and Michael Chaves has struggled with his entries. Thankfully, this is his best outing and feels a lot more in line with the original film. They’ve cut back on the excessive CGI and have taken a more practical approach. I really enjoyed how the spirits were treated in this, with some genuinely creepy visuals and some great moments. I did feel like the haunting itself ended with a bit of a whimper, despite a good buildup, but there’s only so much you can do with exorcising a demon.
While it certainly meanders at times, and the 2-hour 15-minute runtime feels a bit unearned, I enjoyed my time with Last Rites. This was a movie made for the fans, and it’s satisfying enough that most of them should be leaving the theater happy. Whether this end actually remains permanent, I’m certainly sad to see Wilson and Farmiga leaving the world of The Conjuring behind them. Last Rites doesn’t rewrite the playbook, but make sure to pay homage to all the things that made the series what it was.
THE CONJURING: LAST RITES IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2025.
