Since the release of The Conjuring back in 2013, fans have been learning about Ed an Lorraine Warren. The real life demonologists have solved some of our more unexplainable mysteries and the James Wan franchise helped to bring their story to a wider fanbase. Now, we have to say goodbye.
The Conjuring: Last Rites details the final case of Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and his wife, Lorraine (Vera Farmiga). From the start, Wilson and Farmiga have played the couple through some of their more infamous cases, including the Annabelle doll, which has been making her own real life headlines recently. But what has always been great about The Conjuring movies is that they honor the legacy that the Warrens put out into the world.
And Last Rites is no different. The Smurl family haunting started back in 1974. And after the fictionalized version of Ed had a heart attack in The Devil Made Me Do It, he and Lorraine scaled back their cases. But as the movie points out, this was the case that stopped the Warrens career and so it is a fitting conclusion to the film franchise as well.
Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is trying to lead a normal life but as we learn throughout this movie, some of Ed and Lorraine’s cases aren’t going to always be left behind when they’re finished. Some will come back to haunt them and the Smurl haunting was enough to finally have the two hanging up their crucifixes.
A fitting goodbye
Like much of the rest of the franchise, the film is set mainly around the case but we get to learn more about Ed and Lorraine’s life outside of their work in it and Last Rites is, easily, the most draining for them. With Judy included in their case along with her boyfriend, Tony (Ben Hardy), this is a family affair. And boy is it a lot for the Warrens to take on but they do it with the style we’ve come to know and love.
At the end of the day, this movie feels very bittersweet. On the one hand, it is best to go out with a bang and on the top of your game. And, ultimately, that is what The Conjuring: Last Rites does. But it still is tough to say goodbye to a franchise that fans have been with for over a decade, especially one whose subjects are more timely than ever before.
What makes The Last Rites a great finale is that the entire family is there and Ed and Lorraine Warren’s legacy did, in real life, get passed on to Judy Warren and Tony Spera. So while yes, saying goodbye to one of the best horror franchises of all time is tough, it is nice knowing that it has a beautiful send off in the end. But hey, never say never, Annabelle is running around causing chaos in 2025 so maybe they’ll have to bring The Conjuring back.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is in theaters on September 5.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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