INTERVIEW — Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga Face the Darkness Together One Final Time in ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ [September Cover Story]
Few horror franchises have left such a lasting cultural imprint as The Conjuring. Across more than a decade, the saga of Ed and Lorraine Warren has thrilled, terrified, and deeply moved audiences. Now, with The Conjuring: Last Rites, director Michael Chaves and stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson bring the curtain down on the Warrens’ cinematic journey. In my exclusive conversation them for Dread Central’s September digital cover story, the three reflect on their final chapter together.
When pressed, Vera Farmiga doesn’t hesitate to admit that the end of this era carried weight for her, especially when long-time screen husband Patrick Wilson was no longer on set.
“It wasn’t until his absence actually that I was able to feel like, oh God, his joyful presence has finally gone from set… Without divulging the plot, when it all comes to a nasty head, that scene, that scene, and coming back to it time and time again, because we just wanted to get it right. My nervous system just packed its bags after that.”
She explains that what has always driven her portrayal of Lorraine is the love the couple represents to her: “My favorite thing about this, it always has been, is embodying Ed and Lorraine’s unwavering bond. And I had just the most perfect scene partner.”
Patrick Wilson, who has now spent more than a decade building that bond alongside Farmiga, describes the experience as both emotional and strangely familiar.
“It felt different. We’ve really kind of grown up in our forties with each other… we still are just the same kind of goofballs that we’ve always been. So we haven’t changed—our work ethic hasn’t changed, our desire to make this scene, this take the best it can absolutely be hasn’t changed.” For him, closing out the series was both exhausting and cathartic: “These movies are not easy to make. It’s very heightened stuff… fighting and screaming in tears and things blowing at you and blowing up around you and wind blowing your face fire and exercising demons, all that. It’s got all that. So it’s quite a ride over the years.”
Chaves, who stepped into the franchise as a fan before taking the director’s chair, says he never stopped feeling grateful for the chance to be part of it. “I feel so lucky to have just been a part of it. I started as a fan. I saw the first film, and it was like seeing a horror movie for the first time. I just fell in love with it. It’s honestly been a dream come true. It’s hard to even, and coming to the end of it now, I’m sad. I’m really genuinely sad that it’s over.”
And though Last Rites closes the book on Ed and Lorraine, Chaves doesn’t rule out other corners of the universe being explored. “I think something could be done with the Mirror, and I believe that the trick lies in the face of the Mirror… but to answer your question, I think it would be The Mirror.”
While this phase of The Conjuring Universe might be closing, when looking back on the supernatural themes at the heart of the franchise, Farmiga admits her own perspective remains complex.
“I’ve always believed in the supernatural a hundred percent: I’m a cautious believer. I’ve had enough strange occurrences in my own personal life, but the one thing that Lorraine has taught me… it is a decision. It’s a personal decision, how much you want to open yourself up to it.” She recalls experiences on set that unsettled her: “Somewhere in between the flight home from London and arriving… there’s these three large upside-down bruise crosses on my thigh. Those are not, they’re very, very specific. Things have happened to us in the filming of this, of telling stories.”
For Farmiga, though, the series has always circled back to one crucial thing: “This franchise is always about the love, where love reigns. That fear cannot dwell in the presence of love. Darkness has no place.”
On the other hand, for Wilson, the films have deepened his sense of mystery rather than provided clarity.
“I’ve wrapped my head around what it means to a lot of people… doing these movies and I guess research and all that stuff, but really just talking to people and hearing different experiences and honestly dealing with grief and death and signs in my own life.”
“The fans have shown up over and over and over again with so much passion,” agrees Vera. “It’s wild. What has moved me most over the years is seeing what the franchise has meant to kids, to people, and to the fans. They’re the soul of the franchise… It’s incredible fan art. It’s incredible tributes, cosplay, fan fiction, and art. And I mean, they’re not just watching the films.” For her, the outpouring has been life-changing: “The devotion that the fandom has had is truly one of the most moving experiences of my career. It is a big surprise to me, honestly, spiritually, this whole job. Who would’ve thought a horror franchise would’ve turned out to be the most transformative, spiritual experiences of my life, but here we are.”
Yet, because these two characters have become so beloved by fans, Wilson admits that a line between fact and fiction has blurred from time to time.
“Because of my role in this franchise, I usually get a lot of, ‘I need to call you. I’ve got a problem,’ he shares, not impatient but like a loving dad. “They confide in Vera: But with me, they know that Ed’s not clairvoyant, so they’re just like: can you come help me?… Weirdly, I probably would. I’m like, sure! However, please remember that I can’t do anything. I’m just an actor. But I’d be happy to try.”
He sees Last Rites as a gift back to the same passionate voices who have supported the series for over a decade. “This movie’s for you,” says Wilson, when I ask if he has a message for the fans directly.
“This movie is really for you, this is for the fans… If you have seen our movies, and especially if you’ve seen the first one, you’ll be emotionally rewarded in several ways. See it in the theater at night, maybe with some strangers, and buckle up.”
Buckle up, indeed. This new film is a reliably terrifying experience. Still, while Wilson and Farmiga have battled the darkness together on screen for so long, they still have the movies that haunt them forever. Both stars also shared the movies that first scared them as children.
“I was so terrified of Freddy Krueger… I slept with a pillow fort around me,” Vera tells me, a familiar look in her eye as she explains.
“I wasn’t allowed to watch horror films. I wasn’t. I was forbidden. So I had to sneak over to Missy Burner’s house, and we would go to the video store, rent a video, and it would always be one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. And I was so terrified of Freddy Krueger. Talk about demonic forces that enter you, paralyzing you. I was so afraid a bunch of his finger knives would plunge into my chest. His hand knives were… I just knew he was going to come in at night and turn me into an appetizer.”
Wilson, is quick to cite his own genre trauma. “Easy,” he says with zero need to think it over.
“Salem’s Lot. The TV version of Salem’s Lot in the seventies. Saw it at a friend’s house, and it just really freaked me out, and I had nightmares for a long time. And Jaws, too.”
Wilson pauses and clarifies, “Not Jaws 2, but Jaws as well,” and I let out an accidental burst of laughter. Politely, though, he continues:
“And then Poltergeist, because my house was robbed the night that I saw it, I always connect those two. It was like 1981, right? It was a long time ago, but I believe it happened that night. In my mind, it did. I have to ask my mom that. But it’s always connected to that, which may just be trauma being connected together if I really think about it. But they are connected in my mind.“The TV version of Salem’s Lot in the seventies… just really freaked me out, and I had nightmares for a long time. And then Poltergeist, because my house was robbed the night that I saw it, I always connect those two… which may just be trauma being connected together if I really think about it. But they are connected in my mind.”
The Conjuring: Last Rites isn’t just another entry in a hit franchise—it’s the culmination of a decade-long journey with two of horror’s most beloved characters. Farmiga and Wilson have given audiences a portrait of devotion in the face of evil. No matter how scary the film gets, there’s always something comforting about watching these two face the darkness, together, just one last time.
Last Rites hits theaters on September 5.
Categorized: Cover Stories News
