Directed by Michael Chaves, The Conjuring: Last Rites is the ninth film in the franchise and very much a sendoff for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Ed and Lorraine Warren. Whatever you like or dislike about the spin-offs or the mainline entries, those two have been the constant. They’re great together here, and it’s sad to see them go. Framed around the real-life Smurl family haunting of 1986 in Pennsylvania, the Warrens—now retired—are pulled back in by a cursed mirror and a malevolent presence, with their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) and her boyfriend Tony caught in the middle.
I enjoyed Last Rites. It’s not on the same level as the first two Conjuring films, and I liked it more than The Devil Made Me Do It, but there’s plenty to praise. Eli Born’s cinematography is gorgeous—lots of moody frames, great compositions, the kind of shots you could use as wallpaper. Sound design is sharp, the score is eerie, and there’s strong practical makeup and gore in spots. What doesn’t work is a recurring CGI “hag” that looks distractingly cartoony. You’ve got other entities done practically that look great, and then this digital face pops up and pulls the scare right out of the scene.
Performances are a big plus. Farmiga and Wilson once again carry the emotional weight, and Tomlinson stands out as Judy—she’s got a lot to shoulder and mostly nails it. The haunted family’s cast feels believable too, even the younger kids, which can be hit-or-miss in horror.
Where it stumbles is pacing and emphasis. For a little over an hour, it often feels like two different movies: the haunted family on one track and the Warrens’ family drama on the other. I actually checked—about an hour and twenty minutes in is when the Warrens finally arrive at the haunted house. The last 40–50 minutes deliver the goods, but by then a lot of the creepiest imagery has already been spoiled in the trailers.
Scare-wise, it leans on very familiar stuff: mirror gags, background creepers, “pause the footage to see it” moments, and loud stingers. A couple jumps got me—because, sure, loud noises—but seasoned horror fans aren’t losing sleep. What works is the overall creep factor; it’s unsettling even when it isn’t truly scary.
As a farewell, though, it lands. The family angle pays off, there’s a surprisingly tender sendoff beat for Ed and Lorraine that’s separate from the horror, and there are some fun universe cameos (including James Wan). For me, Last Rites is a well-crafted, well-acted goodbye that’s better than the third Conjuring but still not back to the heights of the first two. If you’re here purely for scares, you’ll wish it got to the house sooner and ditched the CGI ghoul. If you’re here to say goodbye to Farmiga and Wilson’s Warrens, it’s a solid, satisfying sendoff—I just wanted more of the horror, earlier.
Rating: 7/10.