The Conjuring: Last Rites Film Review

The Conjuring: Last Rites’ tools of scares haven’t lost their touch even after many years, but they also haven’t evolved.

Along for the spooky ride this time are their adult daughter Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson, of The Beast Must Die) and her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy, of 6 Underground).

I am of the firm belief that horror movie sequels in general are a bad idea, considering many of them end up as either deflated retreads or over the top craziness as the initial horror from the novelty of the first movie has run its course. So The Conjuring: Last Rites didn’t invite much faith from me, not helped by the fact that many of the more recent Conjuring universe movies hadn’t done terribly well.

After viewing, I can confidently say that The Conjuring: Last Rites is not the worst horror movie sequel I’ve seen in my life. On one hand, horror aficionados will know even that halfhearted compliment is pretty significant considering how badly most horror sequels do. On the other hand, the bar was set pretty low to begin with.

The feeling I get the most from The Conjuring: Last Rites is that for the series finale, the film tries to go back to its roots for its scares. Back in my review of The Conjuring, I compared the film to a well-made haunted house, as while elements of its scares were familiar, the execution had enough subtlety to maintain suspense. Last Rites tries to emulate that feeling, and is generally successful. A particular standout involves a VHS tape, I recall being the tensest during that moment. While the formula for the tension might be the same, as it has a character slowly looking around with a panning shot waiting for something to happen, the movie still executes that formula well most times.

Where Last Rites stumbles, however, is when to blow its load, and how much. The film opens with a semi-jumpscare where something disturbing is shown with a quick camera movement and a sound effect like an asthma victim screaming directly into your ear. Using a jumpscare in a horror movie should be like choosing when to pop an inflating balloon. You need to wait a bit and let the balloon swell enough. If you stab too early, the explosion isn’t as satisfying, and a deflated balloon can never go back to normal. That sort of restraint is something The Conjuring knew to exercise, which is sadly a bit lost with Last Rites.

In addition, it actually doesn’t take that long before the first ghost is shown, and in fairly sharp detail. When the ghost appears, its design and the way it attacks is more akin to a monstrous creature than a supernatural being. That isn’t a bad thing in a vacuum, but the sort of tension behind a paranormal horror film and a creature horror film are two different things. The ghost design makes me feel like the movie was trying to switch between those two types of horrors, and they don’t mesh together organically.

Emotionally, the film also follows The Conjuring as it focuses on familial bonds. The chemistry between Ed, Lorraine, and Judy are sincerely touching. You get the feeling that this is a family that’s gone through hell and back. The film even spends a pretty lengthy sequence devoted to just showing the family having a normal life, and I appreciated that the movie was treating these characters as characters and not jumpscare fodder.

That said, you may notice I forgot to include Tony among the characters, and that’s because he’s unfortunately the weakest character here. His chemistry with Judy is alright, but as the film progresses you can tell the writers are struggling more and more to find reasons for him to stay relevant to the plot. By the climax he feels more akin to a bench warmer at a football game, as he ends up being more of a liability than a legitimate physical, emotional, or even supernatural support to the Warrens.

Sadly, one final point I must levy at this film is something it shares with The Conjuring. When the climax hits and the battle against demonic forces is underway, the Warrens start fighting back. However, the film fails to provide viewers with any concrete rules on how this demon operates even till the very end. So even when spooky things are happening, you won’t be entirely sure on how frightened you should be.

Horror thrives on the unknown, but that pertains more to the buildup stages of a horror movie. In the climax, if the story becomes about the main characters confronting the source of horror, I need to have a general idea on what they can really do to fight back, or how they can fail. Otherwise, while I might still be scared, I cannot truly be scared for the characters.

The Conjuring: Last Rites is mainly harmless. Despite being the ninth movie in the franchise, the fact that it still provides some engagement proves that while its elements of horror and drama have aged since The Conjuring, they haven’t completely decomposed yet. Yet it also means I can’t think of any real reason to watch this film over the first one, as many of its elements are almost the same, but a little worse off. If you’re invested in the story of the Warrens and want to see this universe off, you should be in for an adequate, albeit not groundbreaking time. Otherwise, I’m afraid this movie won’t particularly haunt you.

The Conjuring: Last Rites was released in US theaters, in UK & Irish cinemas, and globally in theaters on September 5, 2025.