THE CONJURING: LAST RITES (2025) review

written by: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
produced by: James Wan and Peter Safran
directed by: Michael Chaves
rated: R (for bloody/violent content and terror)
runtime: 135 min.
U.S. release date: September 5, 2025 (theatrical), October 7, 2025 (digital HD), & November 25, 2025 (Blu-ray/DVD)

Who would’ve thought that there would be a “Conjuring” universe back in 2013 when director James Wan’s “The Conjuring” was released, let alone eight movies that populated that universe? On that note, no one would’ve thought that “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, the third sequel with a $55 million budget, would be the highest-grossing entry in the franchise, making $495 million. Usually, I have no interest in box-office earnings. Still, it’s hard not to be curious and impressed by this, especially since it’s yet another movie that has contributed to Warner Bros. Pictures’ incredibly successful year. The sequel, directed by Michael Chaves, who helmed “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (2021) and “The Nun II” (2023), may conclude the supernatural investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren, as portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively.

These movies have taken the alleged true stories of the Warrens’ controversial investigations and confrontations from the 1970s and 1980s, and made them into unexpectedly compelling adventures. Much of that should be credited to the undeniably engaging pairing of Wilson and Farmiga, two actors who have been and remain the highlight of each movie. This time, we see their entire family face a new demonic entity that torments a suburban family.

Much of “Last Rites” takes place in 1986, when the Smurl family, residents of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, become victims of something wicked that visits their home. This is where Jack (Elliot Cowan) and Janet (Rebecca Calder) Smurl live with their four daughters: teenagers Dawn (Beau Gadsdon) and Heather (Kíla Lord Cassidy), and young twins, Carin (Tilly Walker) and Shannon (Molly Cartwright), along with their dog, Simon. They live with Grandpa (Peter Wight) and Grandma Smurl (Kate Fahy), who own the home, and life takes an ominous turn when they gift Heather a giant antique mirror for her Catholic confirmation ceremony. At first, only Heather sees the figure, a ghostly, freakish old woman (Gabrielle Downey), but when a ceiling light crashes onto the kitchen table, narrowly missing her while the family is eating, it becomes clear something isn’t right. The evil presence also takes on the form of a tall, freaky guy with an ax (Leigh Jones) and a decayed young woman (Grace Kemp), who make frightening appearances to other members of the Smurl family.

The Smurl family reaches out to the Catholic church for help, but that goes nowhere, so they turn to the press, which catches the attention of Father Gordon (Steve Coulter). He’s a longtime friend of the Warrens and reaches out to Ed and Lorraine, hoping to persuade them to come out of retirement to help this family. Due to Ed’s heart condition (which played a significant part in the last “Conjuring” movie), the Warrens have been lecturing about the thousands of cases they’ve worked on, but in a post-Ghostbusters world, they’ve struggled to find an audience that takes them seriously.

Ed and Lorraine inevitably get pulled back in to take on whatever is plaguing the Smurls, not by Father Gordon but by their adult daughter, Judy (Mia Tomlinson), who has the same clairvoyant gift that Lorraine has. Judy is newly engaged to former police officer, Tony Spera (Ben Hardy), and the two are about to begin their lives together at about the same age Ed and Lorraine were when they met. But Judy’s visions pull her to the Smurl family, who desperately need help. Once Ed and Lorraine are involved, they begin to realize that the demonic entity at play has distinct ties to their past, specifically involving Judy.

This is the first “Conjuring” movie to feature an adult Judy in the cast, and her introduction is part of the prologue to “Last Rite”, which occurs in 1964. This is when Ed and a pregnant Lorraine were starting on their investigations, and the couple came across a strange mirror that contained a dark energy. That encounter triggers Lorraine’s early labor, and during a complicated delivery, her baby comes out stillborn. But Judy miraculously lives after Lorraine holds her tight and prays to God to let her live. Judy grows up an only child, overwhelmed by the kind of clairvoyant visions that her mother has, and Lorraine teaches her to recite an old nursery rhyme to calm her and help her shut out the supernatural.

There’s an emphasis on domesticity in “Last Rites” for the Warrens, which is surprisingly appealing as screenwriters Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick touch on how Ed and Lorraine first met and on their family life raising Judy. Ed denies he’s getting older, despite a birthday party for himself that’s thrown at the Warren home. This is where soon-to-be son-in-law Ben goes out of his way to get Judy’s parents’ blessing and winds up proposing to her right there. It’s kind of crazy that it takes four movies for us to get a fully realized and relatable look at the Warrens; nevertheless, it’s welcome to see more of Wilson and Farmiga together. In a way, “Last Rites” feels like it could be a swan song for the Warrens, even though they lived until 2006 (Ed) and 2019 (Lorraine), since it’s hard to envision additional movies adapting more of their cases.

Two moments look at possible futures for either the Warrens or this franchise. One is near the movie’s conclusion, when Lorraine shares with Ed a vision of their future: growing old together peacefully, surrounded by Judy and Tony’s children. There’s also a moment where Ed hands the keys to the Warren archives (where an assortment of scary totems, trinkets, and dolls are stored) located in a locked section of their Connecticut home, to Tony, showing he’s accepting him into the family and maybe passing the exorcism torch.

In the movie’s third act, the threat from the creepy old mirror intensifies, hitting familiar notes like demon possession, inanimate objects moving on their own, and true love saving the day.  There’s even a creepy basement that absolutely no one should go down, but it happens anyway. Visions of CGI blood overflowing a kitchen sink and jump scares suggest Chaves is working off a checklist rather than trying to offer anything different or new. On that note, it’s funny that the movie includes not only a confirmation service and birthday party, but also a funeral and a wedding. That’s all fine, considering “The Conjuring: Last Rites” simply delivers what viewers have come to expect from this franchise, while adding a welcome emphasis on the Warren family’s human concerns.

RATING: ***

Released theatrically back in September to mixed critical reviews but surprisingly strong ticket sales, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” was a huge hit. It now arrives on home video – oddly, as “The Conjuring 4: Last Rites”, which it was never called during the movie’s theatrical run – in separate 4K and Blu-ray editions, as well as an obligatory Steelbook combo pack.

As expected, the 4K looks good with solid visuals and sound. Deep blacks boost the movie’s shadowy parts, while its controlled colors are warm and cool in equal measure. Some vivid colors exist primarily in outdoor scenes, like Ed’s backyard barbeque birthday party, a funeral, and a bright indoor wedding that closes the movie. Overall, the colors fit the film’s prevailing mood, and the HDR layer gives everything an appropriate and purposeful uniformity. Fine detail is excellent and, in optimal conditions, shows no apparent compression artifacts, rounding out the visual presentation nicely.

Something viewers may pick up on that might not have been noticeable in theaters is a shifting aspect ratio. It changes from 2.39:1 to a taller 1.78:1 during two scenes totaling just over 8 minutes; this is done to mimic the 1.90:1 format used for IMAX presentations.

This 4K Blu-ray release ships in a keepcase with artwork that’s mostly identical to the Steelbook; a matching slipcover and Digital Copy redemption code are also included. As for Special Features, there’s unfortunately no commentary tracks included, which is typical of Warner Bros. output lately, and only three surface-level extras.

These featurettes could’ve just been one 30-minute offering, rather than three broken up by themes, but it’s an easy way to make it look like there’s a handful of special features. Here’s how they break down:

• Last Rites: An Era Ends (8:45) – The title indicates that this is it, but it’s doubtful considering how much money “Last Rites” made. This featurette is what you’d expect: it focuses primarily on this sequel, but also touches on the installments that came before it. There are brief comments from key cast and crew members, including Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, producer/co-writer James Wan, director Michael Chaves, and others.
• The Conjuring: Crafting Scenes (8:42) – This has the same look and feel as the previous featurette, in terms of content and participants. This short piece takes a quick look at the film and franchise’s visual approach to horror. Honestly, it could’ve been longer, given this franchise’s reputation for creative camerawork. 
• Michael Chaves: Believer (7:05) – The shortest featurette is the most self-serving, focusing on Chaves’ contributions to the franchise and the horror genre and, of course, including a few obligatory claims about the authenticity of paranormal events via hearsay and second-hand accounts. Such claims warrant additional material or a documentary in and of themselves.