The Conjuring: Last Rites
Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be talking about the film The Conjuring: Last Rites. Fun Fact: There is a cameo by at least one character from all the previous movies, considering this is the last of the Ed and Lorraine-centered films. This movie came out in 2025 and stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Mia Tomlinson, and was directed by Michael Chaves. So without further ado, let's get right into it.
The Conjuring: Last Rites sees the return of a demon from the Warrens' early days of ghost hunting that is attached to a mirror. When a family starts dealing with the demon attacks, the Warrens remain that they are retired, but when their daughter Judy gets involved, they realize they have to get involved in order to help this family have peace, but then they realize that this demon is very familiar.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is a supernatural Horror movie. It has similar vibes to The Conjuring, Oculus, or The Haunting in Connecticut.
The Conjuring franchise is without a doubt my favorite horror movie franchise, so I was for sure going to watch this movie even though I was a bit worried because I didn't connect with the last film. This film seems to be more reminiscent of the first two films and had me stressed the entire time. It's the last film focusing on Ed & Loraine, and it was a bit sad to say farewell to our spooky parents.
This film details the Smurl haunting, which is one of their iconic cases, and has actually been made into a movie before in 1991 called The Haunting. It was cool how they tied this case to Judy and made her the center of the story, and one that draws Ed and Lorraine back into the world of getting rid of demons. The film uses a formula that has been used before: a money-strapped family unable to leave a haunted house, but just because it has been done before doesn't mean it doesn't work.
Patrick Wilson plays Ed Warren, who had a heart attack, and another would kill him, so he is semi-retired in this film. He is still speaking about possessions and their cases, but he's not actively going to people's houses as he did in the past, and he really misses it. In this film, we see more of him as a father and how he doesn't want to let his daughter grow up, but he does, and by the end of the movie, he feels more relaxed knowing she's in good hands with Tony. One thing I've loved across the movies with Patrick's portrayal of Ed is how he comes off as very aggressive when dealing with ghosts and trying to get through to people who are possessed, but also how he's super protective of his family and the family they are helping, and tries to ease their fears so that the demons can't feed on that. He is in poor health, but tell him there is a demon torturing a family, and he's ready to jump in and help.
Lorraine is played by Scream Queen, Spooky Mother, Vera Farmiga, who is just amazing in this movie. Her outfits are stunning, when she speaks, I feel relaxed, and the way she presents herself as inquisitive makes me so interested to know what she knows or is drawn to. She is usually the one who can see the demons or ghosts before Ed can, and connects with them and learns their backstory. I love how she knows immediately when something is off, and you can see how she's trying to keep the family they are helping calm and engaged while also assessing the situation. She does this look in the movies that looks very stern, fearful, but also ready to confront this entity head-on. She aims to protect her husband, which is nice to see, even though eventually they get drawn back into the demon-hunting world. It takes an immense amount of control to be able to live and be happy with all that Lorraine has seen, and somehow she manages to do it.
The beginning of the movie shows a young Ed and Lorraine, played by Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith, as they have their first encounter with this mirror. The young actors did such a great job embodying their mannerisms and really nailed mimicking their older counterparts. I loved seeing how new they were to demon hunting and how they didn't exactly know what they got themselves into. The Conjuring films always have an intro story that's in the past of a case that stuck with them, and then that ties to the future, and I love how this one really tied with the Warrens and let you know that Judy's birth was clouded by darkness.
Judy is played by Mia Tomlinson, and she's been around in the franchise since the first movie. This film sees her stepping up a bit more as she navigates adulthood with these abilities, like her mom, to sense these supernatural occurrences, but can't manage them like her mom. At the beginning of the film, we see how touching the mirror forced Lorraine to go into labor, and she is born stillborn. It seems like a demon was the one causing her not to breathe but when it backs down, she is able to breathe and comes to life. She's in love with her boyfriend Tony, who becomes her husband by the end of the movie, and she is just trying to enjoy life. As weird occurrences get worse for her, it all comes to a head when she touches the dead pastor's casket and pieces together where he was when he died, and tries to get answers. She is drawn to the Smurls, which then leads her family to go after her, and eventually she convinces them to help. Later, we find out the mirror is what was pulling them back, trying to finish what it started. Judy gets possessed, but with the help of her family, she is able to come out of it, and then she gets married and lives happily ever after. I will say I just love how Anabelle is still torturing her after all these years, and they bring back that iconic yet creepy rocking chair from the first movie.
Through Judy, we meet Tony, who loves her and wants to marry her. I love how he gets thrown into this mess, and instead of running away, he helps. Tony seemed like he would be like Ed in the sense that he's always down to help people in need. I loved his little back story as to why he wasn't a cop, which was that he valued his life too much, and when put in a dangerous situation where he got lucky, he didn't want to test that luck again. I love that he helped and wasn't just in the way, but I was worried for him, especially when he got his leg trapped and dragged, and then almost choked by the mirror. It was weird how he was injured and then was able to walk fine after that. I love how Ed gives him keys in the end, which felt like he trusted him to help carry on the tradition.
The Smurls' story was interesting, and I love how it builds up to a big, intense moment. They mention that the supernatural stuff has been happening for a while, and I feel like they mention this to help people understand that it's not something that was quickly resolved; it was happening for a long time, and it weighs on the family. The Smurls didn't know what to do, so they ended up going to the press to try and get help, which just ended up being more of an annoyance. The scene in the basement with Lorraine reminded me of the first movie when there is a ghost down there watching her, and then when Lorraine falls in the blood in the second film, and I loved the little easter eggs. Lorraine later says that there are 3 ghosts in the house: a man with an axe who killed his wife, who was cheating, and her mom and himself, but they are shielding another, more powerful entity that's controlling them. The man with the axe was so scary every time he came up because he looked so tall and ready to inflict pain, and his walking was so loud. The dead wife seems like she assaulted the dad in a crazy scene after he was not really trying to do anything about the ghost. The grandma kept playing with that god forsaken, creepy toy, and it was just all so unsettling. I do feel like the film struggled to balance them and the Warrens because they kind of got pushed aside when the Warrens were there, and it became about the Warrens' possessions more than the Smurls.
I love that the warrens are kind of celebrities in their own right by the time of this case. When they are teaching a class in the beginning, people are aware of them and some are interested, while others are doubtful. When they arrive at the Smurls, the press gravitates towards them like flies to a light. The warrens are pioneers in that field and had some highly publicized cases, so it makes sense that they had supporters and deniers.I love the mention of Ghostbusters as well, which would have negatively impacted their work because it made ghost hunting look easy and comical.
I must ask why every toy in this franchise is creepy. I don't think these movies do any service to people who talk about toys in the 60’s, 70’s, or '80s being cute. We had Anabelle and that music box in the first movie. The Conjuring 2 gave us the Crooked Man. This film gives us the carousel and the worst one in this film, which is that dang baby. At first, the baby was just creepy cause it kept turning on, but when it got up and started walking, I was a bit horrified. Come to find out it was the damn ghost playing with it. All I know is I wouldn't want any of those toys in my house at all.
The mirror was a cool way to connect things, but I felt some backstory was missing compared to how they explain the objects in other films. I know it was influencing people and other demons to do stuff, and for most of the humans, it was suicide, and for the demons, it was wreaking havoc. I really wanted to know what demon was pushing these other demons or ghosts to do what they were doing. This movie was further proof to listen to the animals because that dog knew something was up with that creepy mirror, and eventually the demon did get tired of it and launched it across the room; thankfully, it survived. I knew the mirror would be back, and I was shocked that it took so long for the family to know the mirror was back, but it makes sense because it was so big, so it couldn't just hide anywhere. It was crazy to see how it weighed itself down to try and stay in the house, dropped on the dad's leg, and then gave a 360 spin and started coming after the family, but it was no match for the Warrens, who had to face the evil, not try and look away.
Between Ed's heart problems, the mirror dropping on the dad, and the mirror dragging Tony's leg, I was shocked at how everyone bounced back so quickly. Like, there is no way that either of the leg injuries would be walking any time soon, and Ed would need a moment to get it together before walking. It's a small thing but but all those scenes made me worry they might die soon, so their walking out all healed had me a little confused.
The film had some cool cinematography choices. I love how there were so many close-up shots, zoom shots, jump cuts, tracking shots, and maybe a crane shot when they panned from the front door of the house and went over the house to the back door. A lot of the shooting choices led to me feeling so unsettled and stressed because it felt like something would pop up. They also have these shots where they use the negative space to make you feel uneasy because the character is not centered in the frame, and so, since there is so much negative space, you wonder what might pop up, or if there is something or someone already there. When a demon was around, there were also lighting changes where it would get darker, which adds to the tension because then you also can't see everything. The choices they made for the cinematography were great to really increase the horror and get my heart racing.
I love how the film had so many cameos, considering it's the last in the Conjuring run of movies that focus on Ed and Lorraine. We see people who helped them in the first movie at Ed’s birthday, which was nice to see how they've grown and changed. Ed and Lorraine mention that they check in with the families, and Judy's wedding becomes a little reunion where we see at least one character from each of the past movies. Ed & Lorraine are both dead in real life, but their daughter Judy and her husband Tony do make a cameo at Ed's birthday. James Wan makes a cameo, which is nice because he is the director who started this entire franchise. I loved how this wedding was a way to help bring back some familiar faces and give a proper send-off.
I think my favorite part of The Conjuring: Last Rites is the family getting rid of the demon and the little tidbit about the mirror. I have come to really enjoy Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine, and I loved how they were a couple who stood by each other and helped as many as they could. I love how in this film they are helping another family, but also helping their own, to not fear these things that go knock in the night. They really made you want to root for this family to succeed. Patrick and Vera also nail the dramatic scenes, which make you feel like whatever is happening is very serious and needs to be handled quickly, but with care. The real mirror is something that comes up in the end credits, and we learn that people used this mirror to communicate with the dead, or so they thought. The film ends with something that is the perfect way to wrap up the franchise, which is saying the mirror is known as the conjuring mirror. I thought that's a fitting way to not only wrap up the franchise but finally give some background behind the name of the franchise. Both of these things stood out and made me appreciate the movie more.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is not a perfect horror movie, but I did really enjoy it and thought it was a great conclusion. I love the cast and how they were able to help instill this fear and really made you believe that this family was in danger. I have lots of love for this franchise, and I felt this was a satisfying end, even though I wanted to see the Amytville case on screen.
