- Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Taissa Farmiga
- September 5th 2025
- 135
- Michael Chaves
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren for a fourth Conjuring outing.
After 12 years, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are ending their run as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren with The Conjuring: Last Rites.
Like the previous three Conjuring films, Last Rites revolves around a real case that the Warrens investigated.
This time around, it’s the Smurl family, who were terrorised by evil spirits in the ’80s after bringing a second-hand mirror into their Pennsylvania home.
Although the Warrens are now retired from case work, they are forced to get involved with the Smurls after their daughter Judy (now played by Mia Tomlinson), who shares her mother’s abilities, pays them a visit.
Last Rites, directed by the previous helmer Michael Chaves, may disappoint horror fans hoping for a scare-after-scare supernatural horror because this is half a horror movie and half a family drama, and it takes a long time to return to horror after the prologue.
The runtime is two hours and 15 minutes, which is unusual for a horror, and that’s because there is so much else going on besides the Smurl haunting, such as Judy exploring her psychic abilities and bringing her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) to meet her parents.
Chaves dedicates a lot of screen time to building our emotional connection to the Warrens (which makes sense for their final outing), but it means the Smurl family are sidelined and there’s not as much focus on them as previous haunted families.
There is still plenty of horror to be found around the domestic soap opera, with solid jump scares, creepy toys and scary-looking demons in the mix.
There are no standout spirits to rival the likes of Annabelle and Valak, but the film delivers on the type of scares we’ve come to expect in a Conjuring film.
Farmiga and Wilson once again do well as the fictionalised versions of the famous Warrens, and fans of the franchise should be satisfied with the fitting farewell.
However, those looking for scares may feel frustrated with the horror-to-drama ratio.
In cinemas from Friday 5th September.
By Hannah Wales.
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