Impressions of The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)

September is finally here, which means that theaters and streaming services are gearing up for the scariest holiday of the year. HBO Max is releasing an It spinoff show called It: Welcome to Derry in late October. Black Phone 2 starring Ethan Hawke is coming to the big screen a few weeks before Halloween. And if The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) plagued your dreams, be prepared for the upcoming release of The Strangers: Chapter 2!

But that’s not all. Like a cherry on top of a fudge sundae, The Conjuring realm has blessed horror junkies with another film about the Warrens and their paranormal investigations. It’s called The Conjuring: Last Rites, and it is already in theaters, waiting to grab moviegoers with its petrifying tale.

A Word of Caution

Like most horror movies, there are some jumpscares and violent scenes that may not suit some viewers in this film. Suicide and animal abuse are portrayed, so please keep those things in mind before you watch The Conjuring: Last Rites.  

A Spine-Chilling Background *Spoilers Ahead*

The movie starts in 1964. Ed (Patrick Wilson) and a pregnant Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are investigating a haunted antique mirror when Lorraine goes into labor. They flee the scene to deliver their daughter, Judy, but not without a consequence. Judy enters the world stillborn, and the demonic spirit inside the mirror is still thriving, looking for souls to torment. 

Two decades later, during the Warrens’ career-decline and Ed’s heart problems, a teenage girl named Heather Smurl (Kíla Lord Cassidy) is gifted the same antique mirror on her confirmation day. This gift disrupts her family’s peace, unleashing multiple menacing spirits who used to live on their property. Their house becomes haunted, and like most people who claim that their house is haunted, they are doubted by the public. The only person who believes them is a priest named Father Gordon, who becomes possessed and commits suicide shortly after calling to their needs. 

As the Smurls search for help, Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson), who survived her birth, inherits the same clairvoyant and psychic powers as her mother, and has no choice but to help the Smurls after seeing a vision pertaining to Father Gordon. Judy becomes an inspiration for her parents, motivating them to not only investigate paranormal cases again, but to run back to the unfinished episode that tainted their daughter’s nativity: the demon inside the antique mirror.

The Story In The Story

Before my watch, I was expecting a cheesy copycat of an older Conjuring movie, and in many ways, it does follow a familiar formula. A demon harasses a middle-class family; Christian leaders or paranormal investigators attempt to drive out the demon; the demon enters the body of an innocent individual, yada, yada, yada… I additionally assumed that the Warrens were not going to appear in this film. How can anyone fight demons for decades and still be kicking around in their golden years? With all this being said, when the film revealed a twenty-two-year-old Judy as a centerpoint character with supernatural abilities, the formula seemed to shift around in my brain.

Judy has always been a somewhat forgotten character in the Conjuring franchise. Despite her being Ed and Lorraine’s bundle of joy growing up, their work with the paranormal prevented them from spending much quality time together, resulting in Judy being left home alone for long periods. She was more of a guilt pest in her family’s shadows, a victim of her parents’ work, than a strong young lady with emotional complexities and abilities. 

The Conjuring: Last Rites gives her the attention she deserves, shedding light on her undisclosed powers, her connections to the dead, her anxieties around her supernatural visions, and her deep relationship with her parents. These sheds of light also emphasize the pains and pressures that paranormal investigators carry in their souls. The families involved in their cases are not the only victims in these demonic games. 

Her powers additionally lend to Ed and Lorraine’s work, for they are not the only supernatural investigators in their family now. Thanks to Judy, their legacies, memories, and powers are going to live on. Perhaps Judy’s revamped character will lead to another chapter in the Conjuring franchise? 

Heart-Stopping Music

The sounds in The Conjuring: Last Rites are nothing short of terrifying. Its ominous notes and scream-sounding echoes heightens the plot’s scariness, especially during scenes involving the supernatural. Its music particularly comes through in the theater. The sounds bounce off the walls!

A Local Atmosphere

The Conjuring: Last Rites is based on a true story. The Smurl family is a real family as well as the Warrens, and they actually came together in 1986 to banish a demon. And not only is the Smurls’ case true, but they actually lived in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, not too far from Rowan University. West Pittston is a prominent setting in this Conjuring story, and one side of my family grew up in the Poconos, so the location of the film hit me with a massive ball of nostalgia. It also made me believe that the Smurls’ case could happen to me, too. When something scary happens in an area we know, we rethink the permanence of our own safety. This film was an ideal representation of this instance. 

I can also admire the hints of Catholicism in this film, with Heather’s confirmation day kicking off the hauntings and the religious statues in her home. Whether they were intentional or not, the 80s Catholic undertones were perfect nightmare fuel for The Conjuring: Last Rites. 

What can I say? Religion has the potential to be creepy.

Bizarre Spirits

I would not say that The Conjuring: Last Rites is the scariest film out of the franchise, but it does feature some terrifyingly unique spirits. There is an old lady with similar facial features as Valak, the demon nun who has appeared in past Conjuring projects. She terrorizes the Smurl family and Judy. There is also a violent farmer who mainly resides in the Smurls’ basement, carrying an axe with him always, attempting to kill anyone who crosses his path.

There is additionally the wife of the farmer. They are all controlled by the demon in the antique mirror, who seems to take the form of a pale alien outside of its home. Perhaps the most jarring spirit in this entire film is Annabelle. She makes a brief appearance in the Smurls’ house, turning into a life-size doll that grows as she moves. It is absolutely terrifying if you have only seen Annabelle in her regular doll form, which was my case. 

I do love the idea of a demon controlling multiple spirits, hiding inside an inanimate object to appear somewhat-innocent. I also think Annabelle’s appearance in this film is interesting. She is still a prevalent and recurring character even after years of having her own tales, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Does her presence boost the scariness of The Conjuring: Last Rites? Of course. But does she need to be involved in this case? I don’t think so.

Final Thought

For those who live off adrenaline rushes, this movie is for you. Unlike other horror film sequels and finales, The Conjuring: Last Rites does a fantastic job at completing the Conjuring universe, or at least this chapter of the franchise. Only time will tell if creators will expand this domain in the near future.