‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Review: Strong Performances and Decent Scares Amongst Haphazard Storytelling
Over the course of more than a decade, The Conjuring Universe has established itself as the most successful horror franchise of the modern era. Much of that longevity stems from the strength of Ed and Lorraine Warren, as portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. They’ve been the beating heart of the series since James Wan’s original 2013 film, elevating ghost stories that might otherwise have felt disposable into tales of love, romance, and perseverance.
That core remains somewhat intact in The Conjuring: Last Rites. Wilson and Farmiga continue to deliver performances that are surprisingly grounded for such a supernatural franchise. Farmiga’s ability to imbue Lorraine with compassion and fragility while never stripping her of her agency has always been impressive. Wilson matches her with a sturdy, lived-in turn as Ed, and together they create the kind of emotional gravity that most horror franchises would kill for. Whenever the two share the screen—whether quietly debating their next steps or simply offering each other support—the film is resurrected.
Unfortunately, much of what surrounds the Warrens is less confident. The parallel A-plot involving the Smurl family haunting is introduced with promise but never fully developed. In earlier Conjuring entries, families like the Perrons or the Hodgsons were fleshed out enough to anchor the film’s horror, giving audiences people to root for and genuine stakes beyond the Warrens’ involvement. Here, the Smurls feel more like narrative dressing, popping up to provide occasional scares without ever becoming the emotional centerpiece they’re meant to be. The result is a story that feels fragmented, like two separate films are running on parallel tracks, but only one of them—the Warrens’—is getting anywhere.
What’s most striking about Last Rites is not the uneven plotting but the overt emphasis on religious heroism and traditional values. The Conjuring films have always leaned into Catholic imagery, but here that iconography is pushed further than ever before. The Church is framed as a kind of unquestionable savior, its rituals elevated to near-superheroic stature. Coupled with a recurring emphasis on the sanctity of the nuclear family, the film often plays like a sermon as much as a horror story.
One particular moment crystallizes this shift. Lorraine is shown pulling fresh-baked goods from the oven, only to be warmly embraced by Ed in a tableau that celebrates her role as homemaker. It’s a strikingly domestic image, but one that immediately evokes the rise of housewife trends and their deep roots in conservative Christian ideals. Rather than reading as mere character shading, the scene feels like a pointed endorsement of patriarchal nostalgia, aligning Lorraine with a model of femininity rooted in submission and domestic labor.
The film’s conclusion pushes this even further. Lorraine envisions a multi-generational nuclear family as the ultimate reward, and the story concludes with a wedding that serves as both an emotional climax and a moral resolution. While the Warrens’ bond has always been the series’ emotional anchor, this new emphasis on conservative ideals feels more explicit than ever, leaving the film thematically unsettling in ways it likely didn’t intend.
As for the horror itself, Last Rites offers a few solid jolts, but overall, it lands as a low point for the franchise. The scares are often predictable, the set pieces strangely muted, and the atmosphere less suffocating than in earlier entries. At times, it feels as though the filmmakers were more invested in delivering a sermon about faith and family than in actually terrifying their audience.
Still, there’s something undeniably compelling about watching Wilson and Farmiga return to these roles one last time. Their chemistry, their devotion to each other, and the sense of realism they bring to an otherwise supernatural story give the film a warmth that cuts through its weaker elements. Even as the horror falls flat and the thematic emphasis grows troubling, there’s comfort in seeing the Warrens face the darkness together.
The Conjuring: Last Rites may not stand among the franchise’s strongest outings, but as a farewell to two of horror’s most enduring characters, it has its moments. It’s just a shame the series ends by leaning more on nostalgia for patriarchal ideals than on the inventive scares that first made it such a cultural force.
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The Conjuring: Last Rites
Summary
While Wilson and Farmiga carry ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites,’ the scares are sparse, and the film leans too heavily on conservative ideals.
