The Conjuring: Last Rites Movie Review: The Conjuring saga ends on a safe but steady note

The plot is simple and sticks to the basics. The Smurl family (played by Elliot Cowan and Rebecca Calder) in Pennsylvania find their home under attack from terrifying disturbances tied to a cursed mirror. Furniture moves, shadows creep, and children are singled out by an unseen force—soon the family is desperate for help. Father Gordon (Steve Coulter) asks Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) to help the Smurls, but they turn him down, insisting they’re retired. After Gordon’s sudden death, things take an unexpected turn when their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) quietly heads to Pennsylvania and turns up at the Smurl house without her parents knowing. That’s when Ed and Lorraine step back into action. At first, it looks like another routine case, but the deeper they dig, the more personal it becomes, with echoes from their own past surfacing.

Creaks, mirrors, and jump scares

Chaves knows atmosphere is half the battle in horror, and he makes the most of it here. Long stretches of silence, doors that creak just a little too long, and reflections that don’t quite line up are all put to good use. Some sequences are genuinely clever in how they play with space and silence, and even when you know a scare is coming, you still tense up. That said, the formula is familiar. You can spot the setup for a jump scare from a mile away, and seasoned fans won’t be surprised by the rhythm. Still, the production design and sound work deserve credit—the house feels suffocating, the details make the haunting believable, and even predictable scares can work when staged this well.

The Warrens hold it together

What really gives the film its weight are the performances. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have been Ed and Lorraine for so long that they slip back into these roles effortlessly. Wilson’s Ed carries the fatigue of a man who’s seen too much, yet he refuses to give in. Farmiga’s Lorraine is equal parts vulnerable and strong, grounding the supernatural chaos in real emotion. Their chemistry remains the beating heart of the story, and in quieter moments, you care more about their relationship than the demon in the room. The Smurl family cast add urgency, especially the younger actors, but the focus never strays far from the Warrens—and rightly so. This was always their story, and they hold it together.

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One last prayer

‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ isn’t the scariest in the series, nor is it the boldest. But it is steady, atmospheric, and respectful of what came before. For long-time fans, it offers a handful of good scares and, more importantly, a proper goodbye to two characters who’ve become part of modern horror’s fabric. Newcomers may see it as just another haunted-house movie with strong performances, but for those who’ve followed the Warrens all along, the film delivers closure. It bows out not with a groundbreaking scream but with a quieter note, reminding us why people kept coming back to these stories of shadows, faith, and things that go bump in the night.

Rating: 3/5