The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)

The Conjuring: Last Rites reminded me why this series works so well when it focuses on Ed and Lorraine Warren as people rather than simply trying to outdo the previous movie with bigger scares. The Conjuring franchise has had its ups and downs, but the central relationship has always been its biggest strength. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga make these characters feel like a couple who have lived through something together, and that gives the supernatural story an emotional foundation.

I was particularly impressed by the scares this time. The ghosts and other threatening figures look genuinely creepy, and the makeup and practical-looking details help make them more unsettling. A lot of modern horror relies on sound to startle people, but the best moments here build the anticipation first. You know something is in the room, you think you know where it might be, and the movie still finds a way to make you uncomfortable. That is the kind of supernatural horror I enjoy.

What also worked for me was the sense that the Warrens were at a different point in their lives. Ed's health and their family's future are part of the story, so taking on another case means something beyond simply accepting another investigation. It would have been easy to make the finale feel like a series of references to earlier movies, but I thought there was an honest attempt to bring their story to a meaningful stopping point.

There are certainly familiar franchise beats. You know the general rhythm of a Conjuring movie by now, and this one doesn't suddenly reinvent the genre. I don't think it needed to. The atmosphere, performances and well-staged scares are what I come for, and I felt like the filmmakers understood that.

The original Conjuring is still probably my favorite of the series, but Last Rites is right up there among the strongest entries for me. It delivers a properly creepy theatrical experience while giving the characters the kind of ending they've earned. If this really is the last main Warren movie, I'm happy with how it turned out.

I love The Conjuring movies, and Last Rites was exactly the kind of experience I wanted for the end of this story. I was so scared in the theater that I kept pulling my blanket tighter around me, even when I was getting too hot. I'd try to get an arm out so I could cool off or take a drink, and then something else would happen and I'd pull everything back under the blanket again. That's when I know a movie is really getting to me.

The thing I love about these movies is that they aren't only about ghosts jumping out at people. I care about Ed and Lorraine Warren. I care about their family, and I've spent several movies getting to know them. When something threatens them, I have a reason to worry that goes beyond not wanting to see another scary face. I felt like Last Rites remembered that. It gave me a story I could get invested in while still scaring me half to death.

And the scary parts really worked. Some of the faces and figures were so creepy that I was sure I was going to be seeing them again when I closed my eyes later. I screamed during at least one big scare, and I think I scared the woman sitting beside me almost as much as the movie scared me. It was that kind of theater experience. I loved it, even though I was completely wound up by the time the credits rolled.

The movie also felt like a proper ending. I didn't walk out feeling like the series had run out of ideas and somebody was just trying to squeeze in one more movie. I felt like there was a real story, and the ending had meaning because of everything that came before it.

I honestly want to see it again because I know I miss details when I'm that frightened. The first time through a movie like this, my brain is too busy preparing for the next scare. Last Rites gave me the frightening, emotional experience I wanted, and I couldn't have asked for much more from this series.