The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) Review: The Franchise That Wouldn’t Die (But Should It Have?)

Picture this: your favorite band announces their farewell tour. Emotional! Historic! You buy tickets, you cry during the last song, you frame the ticket stub.

Then they announce another farewell tour. And another. And then a farewell tour for the farewell tour, sponsored by a ghost-hunting equipment company.

Welcome to The Conjuring: Last Rites — the “final” chapter of a franchise that has already announced it’s not actually over. But we’ll get to that. First, let’s talk about the movie.

The Review

Okay, deep breath. I want to be fair here, because there are things in this movie that genuinely work — and then there’s the existence of this movie, which is its own separate horror story.

What works: Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. Full stop. These two have played Ed and Lorraine Warren across four mainline films and nearly a decade, and they remain the beating heart of this entire universe. Farmiga in particular gives the kind of performance that reminds you she’s one of the best actors working in any genre — she can sell “I sense a demonic presence” the way other actors sell “I love you.” When the movie lets them just be the Warrens — warm, devoted, quietly terrified — it’s genuinely moving. There’s a farewell quality to their scenes together that hits harder than any jump scare.

Michael Chaves directs competently. There are two or three set pieces — I won’t spoil them, but one involves a ceiling and one involves Annabelle doing what Annabelle does — that are legitimately well-crafted. The Smurl haunting, the real-life case this is based on, is objectively disturbing material, and the movie doesn’t waste it.

Now, the other thing. The franchise thing.

This is the ninth film in the Conjuring Universe. The ninth. The universe has grossed over $2.7 billion, making it the highest-grossing horror franchise in history. And this movie — marketed as the grand finale, the last ride, the end of an era — made nearly $500 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing installment of the entire series.

And then they announced more movies.

I’m not angry, I’m just… tired? This is the part of the review where Harper puts on his reading glasses and gets philosophical for a second: there’s something deeply funny about a horror franchise built on exorcism — the ritual of casting things out, of endings, of letting go — that cannot itself let go. The demon is defeated, the credits roll, and then a producer leans into frame and whispers, “…but what if there’s a tenth one?”

The formula is showing its age, too. Cold-open scare. Warm Warren family scene. Investigation montage. Things escalate. Exorcism climax. You’ve seen this movie before — literally, three times, with these same two actors. Last Rites executes the formula well, but it never once surprises you. At 135 minutes, it’s also the longest one, and you feel every minute of that third act.

Here’s my honest take: as a farewell to Farmiga and Wilson’s Warrens, it’s sweet. As a horror movie, it’s fine — 59% on Rotten Tomatoes feels about right, and the 78% audience score tells you the fans got what they came for. As the “end” of anything? Please. I’ll believe this franchise is over when the sun burns out.

Harper’s verdict: Good performances trapped in a franchise running on fumes and box office fumes alone. See it for Vera and

Patrick’s goodbye — just don’t believe the word “last” in the title.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) scary?

It delivers a few strong set pieces and plenty of classic Warren atmosphere, but it plays more like a sentimental farewell than a relentless fright fest — devoted fans will get their chills, though casual viewers may just get closure.

Who directed The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)?

Michael Chaves directed it, returning after The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) and The Nun II (2023) — so he knew this universe inside and out.

Where can I watch The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)?

Following its theatrical run, it is available to rent or buy on major digital platforms, and as a Warner Bros. release it is expected to land on Max — check your region’s listings for what is current.

Is The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) worth watching?

If you are invested in Ed and Lorraine Warren, absolutely — Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson give the characters a genuinely sweet sendoff. If you are only here for scares, temper your expectations: this one is running on fumes and feelings.

Harper’s Extras

Holy crap, I didn’t know that:

• The film is based on the Smurl haunting — a real case from West Pittston, Pennsylvania, where Jack and Janet Smurl claimed a demon tormented their family from 1974 to 1989. The alleged phenomena included foul sulfur odors, their German shepherd being thrown against a wall, their daughter being pushed down a staircase, and Jack claiming the entity sexually assaulted him.
• The Smurls went on Larry King Live and Entertainment Tonight to talk about the haunting. The case was also the subject of a book (The Haunted) and a 1991 TV movie.
• The Warrens investigated in 1986 and claimed four spirits inhabited the house — a demon plus three human spirits the demon was using as weapons.
• The next family to live in the house reported absolutely nothing paranormal. Make of that what you will.
• Despite being marketed as the finale, a new Conjuring movie is already in development. The “Last Rites” were about as final as a comic book death.
• The Conjuring Universe spans 9 films and $2.7 billion — more than any horror franchise in history. For perspective, that’s more than the entire Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises combined.
• Vera Farmiga’s horror resume: Orphan, Bates Motel, The Departed. Patrick Wilson’s: Insidious, Watchmen. These two could headline any genre they want — they chose to spend a decade getting haunted for our entertainment. Respect.

The real story: Ed and Lorraine Warren were real paranormal investigators whose cases inspired not just this franchise but decades of horror. Whether you believe their claims or not, they understood something Hollywood never forgot: people are desperate to believe the veil is thin.

Go deeper: Annabelle — the doll who steals every scene she’s in — has her own page in our Horror Characters index. And if you want to see where this whole universe started, our Horror Movies index has you covered.

Watch it with: If Last Rites sends you down a Warren rabbit hole, the original Conjuring (2013) remains the best film in the series by a mile — leaner, scarier, and James Wan at the height of his powers. And if you want the real Smurl story, track down the 1991 TV movie The Haunted. It’s… a time capsule, let’s say.