I have followed The Conjuring franchise since the very beginning and it has always been more than just another horror series for me. What started as a collection of ghost stories with clever jump scares has slowly grown into something richer. Last Rites closes the chapter not with the loudest scream but with a farewell that feels like the final page of a long journey.
The movie runs two hours and fifteen minutes and at times it drags. The first half moves slowly but the second half finds its rhythm and begins to pull you in. One sequence that stood out is the wedding gown scene. The trailer hinted at it but kept the real moment hidden. In the cinema the buildup was patient and tense. The silence lingered, the frame tightened and when the scare arrived it struck with force. Even with CGI that sometimes weakens the ghosts, this scene reminded me why this franchise still has power.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga remain the soul of this universe. Watching them as Ed and Lorraine Warren feels like watching a couple who have truly lived these stories. Over four films they have carried the weight of belief, fear and devotion and here you feel the years behind their eyes. Their love is not just written into the script; it breathes in every glance and every quiet exchange. As their last case together the sense of finality is heavy and it works.
Mia Tomlinson’s Judy takes a bigger role this time and it matters. No longer the young child in the background, she is now a grown daughter facing a darkness that wants her too. Alongside her boyfriend, she adds to the feeling of legacy that the Warrens’ fight is also hers. It gives the story new stakes and makes the family bond even stronger.
The atmosphere shifts between dread and warmth. There are stretches where the house is drenched in shadows and silence, yet there are also tender scenes that feel closer to family drama than horror. The contrast makes the scares sharper but it also reminds you that The Conjuring has always been about more than the ghosts. It has been about people, about staying together even when the dark closes in.
Watching Last Rites feels like watching horror’s Avengers: Endgame. Not because of the spectacle but because of what it gives the fans. The callbacks, the cameos, the emotional closure, the sheer scale of what is at stake. For someone who has followed this world for years, it was hard not to smile at the little details, the returning faces and the echoes of past cases. It is a curtain call designed to reward loyalty.
The wider Conjuring universe has been uneven. The Nun worked because of Taissa Farmiga’s performance, La Llorona because of Linda Cardellini. But the main Conjuring films have always rested on Ed and Lorraine and that is why this ending feels right. The finale is not just the closing of a case; it symbolises the end of a journey. The last shot carries the weight of years and it tells you the story is done. Continuing beyond this would only cheapen it.
I watched Last Rites on a Big ATMOS screen. The sound was serviceable, with sudden bursts of music to push the jump scares, but it did not feel worth the IMAX upgrade. This is not a film that relies on scale. Its biggest moments are emotional, not visual.
At the time of writing it holds 62% on Rotten Tomatoes and 51 on Metacritic, yet critics have recognised what makes it special. Screen Rant called it rare for a horror finale to balance character development, chilling story and satisfying closure. RogerEbert.com praised the climax for being both tense and inspiring, proving the power of family. Slashfilm called it a worthy conclusion.
I share that view. The Conjuring: Last Rites may not be the scariest film in the series but it is the most heartfelt. It leaves you with a sense of warmth, respect and closure. For a franchise built on fear, it ends with something deeper: the strength of love and the bond of family.
Rating: 7.5/10
