The Conjuring: Last Rites; a final haunting with mixed success. On September 5th
2025, director Michael Chaves delivered what is known to be the concluding chapter of the Conjuring saga, revisiting Ed and Lorraine Warren for one last case. Expected to wrap up years of paranormal horror, the film leans into both scares, and also sentiment. Sometimes successfully, but not always, in equal measure.

Last Rites opens in 1964, with pregnant Lorraine Warren encountering a haunted
mirror in an antique store. This encounter sets up a sequence of supernatural events and maternal fear. Fast forward to 1986, Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy is drawn into strange occurrences around a mirror that links to the ‘Smurl Family’s Haunting’.

Throughout the film, the tone is almost reflective. Rather than just pulling out jump
scares every so often, Last Rites spends considerably more time in introspection: the
emotional cost of years spent confronting evil and the weariness in knowing that while it saves many, it can come with loss. Along with that, the movie makes an effort to tie back to earlier cases and the Warrens history. For many, the film’s greatest appeal is nostalgia- a farewell. It acknowledges that what made the series so captivating was not just the ghosts, but the people confronting them we as watchers have come to care about.

Here’s where it stumbles. Critics have noted that many of the horror beats feel
familiar. The door slamming, lights flickering, people floating, and demonic dolls have all been seen before. In some scenes the scare tactics grow repetitive. For a “final chapter” it’s almost expected to feel like it’s the best and completely superior to all the others, but this movie leaned safer.

Another complaint critics have about the film is the pacing. Last Rites is relatively long (135 minutes). Yet much of that time is spent building mood, setting up the multiple timelines, and drawing out emotional moments. Some viewers may find the wait for the Warren family’s action frustrating. After all, the Warrens didn’t even begin the investigation until well into the movie.

So, here’s the final verdict. The Conjuring: Last Rites may not reinvent the horror wheel, but it does give the Warrens a final sendoff that many fans feel is much deserved and long overdue. Its strengths are in character and in memory. If you’re coming for scares, you’ll get them. But don’t expect the raw boundary pushing terror of the earliest entries. Instead, expect something more bittersweet- a ghost story about letting go.