Spooky season is drawing closer, but overall so far the 2025 movie calendar has been kind to those who love the horror genre. Fans of The Conjuring movies are undoubtedly hoping that The Conjuring: Last Rites — the conclusion to Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story — will be the year's next hit horror, and the critics are here to weigh in ahead of the film’s September 5 release to theaters. So what are they saying?
Set five years after The Devil Made Me Do It, the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are eyeing retirement when they meet the Smurl family, who have come into possession of a mirror whose evil has ties to the Warrens’ daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson). In CinemaBlend’s review of The Conjuring: Last Rites, Eric Eisenberg says the movie brings the series to a satisfying conclusion, but its return to the haunted house narrative doesn’t pack the same punch as previous movies. He rates it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing:
The vast majority of horror franchises in Hollywood history don’t really get a proper opportunity to offer closure, as the more common path is for them to peter out when ticket sales slow down, but The Conjuring Universe is ending on its own terms, and the ending can be deemed successful enough. It can’t be said that things go out on a high note, as this canon really peaked in 2016/2017 with James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 and David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle: Creation, but it is a loving goodbye to a pair of characters who solidify their place as genre icons.
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting also gives the movie 3.5 out of 5 skulls, saying Last Rites includes a few standout moments of blood-curdling dread while also playing up the sentimentality audiences have developed for the Warrens. The critic says:
Last Rites is suitably nightmarish where it counts, bringing memorable chills that linger and spilling more blood than usual in a Conjuring film. But it’s more affecting for the way it wears its heart on its sleeves, with Wilson and Farmiga giving their final bow as Ed and Lorraine Warren their all. It’s a fitting, heartfelt end to one of horror’s biggest modern franchises, one that’s likely to make you gasp early and often before leaving you weepy with the realization that it really is a goodbye to these wholesome horror parents and the end of an era.
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gives it 3 stars out of 4, writing that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s performances have always been part of what makes The Conjuring one of the best horror movie franchises, and the same is true for their final chapter. Of the movie overall, Seitz says:
This isn’t one of the all-time great Conjuring movies in terms of the supernatural elements—Ed and Lorraine don’t even set foot in this film’s haunted space until halfway through the story. ... But once they are in, they’re really, really in. The climax of Last Rites is as tense and unsettling as you want to be, but it’s also warm and inspiring, because unlike a lot of movies that sell the idea of families being stronger when they all work together, this one totally believes in it and sells it with all the skill and emotion it can muster.
Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critic isn’t fully on board with the emotional family aspect overshadowing the scares. However, characters from the past movies showing up does remind fans of the impact this franchise has had on the horror genre for so long. Hopson gives the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and says:
The biggest problem with The Conjuring, and it continues with Last Rites, is that these movies are far too safe. Long gone is Wan’s stylish direction, replaced with sufficient jump-scares, shadowy figures in the darkness, and creepy toys, in this case a crawling baby doll that whines ‘Mommy mommy mommy’ at the worst times. Every case is one that nearly destroyed the Warrens but it doesn’t feel that way. There’s a sameness that this franchise hasn’t been able to shake for far too long, and I get the impression if it went on for another decade it wouldn’t change.
Frank Scheck of THR says it’s not just the floorboards that are creaky in the ninth movie on The Conjuring’s timeline. Last Rites offers “stale scares” in director Michael Chaves’ fourth movie in the franchise, which feels like it’s suffering from fatigue. Scheck continues:
Farmiga and Wilson haven’t lost their appeal, and with their relaxed chemistry they make for engaging company. But it all feels old hat by now, with returning director Michael Chaves failing to bring much freshness or vitality to the proceedings. The stateliness of it all feels even more old-fashioned in light of such recent audacious and original horror films as Sinners, Weapons, and everything directed by Jordan Peele.
Overall, critics seem to be a bit “meh” on the newest offering in The Conjuring franchise, as it’s accumulated just 57% on Rotten Tomatoes from 74 critics. If you’ve been loyal to the Warrens’ story since 2013, however, it’s probably worth checking out Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s swan song. The Conjuring: Last Rites hits theaters on Friday, September 5.
