Horror is a movie genre that usually makes a profit, because most of the time it’s cheap to make these films, so starting to earn money from them doesn’t take a lot of time. 2025 has been an amazing year for horror films, not only money-wise but also quality-wise. We had Sinners, Weapons, 28 Years Later and many more — films that marked this decade and were among the best of the entire year. The Conjuring universe is complicated… most of the films are bad or awful, some are watchable, but at least it knows how to deliver good jump scares. Honestly, The Conjuring: Last Rites is just more of that: a lot of scares but no plot. It’s a dull, very long film that never manages to justify its runtime…
“Paranormal investigators, Ed & Lorraine Warren take on their most disturbing case to date. Jack & Janet Smurl and their family, move into a brand new home they’ve dreamed of, which turned into a nightmare as their home begins to show signs of demonic infestation.”
Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the first two Conjuring films and I think they’re the best in the entire franchise, but honestly, I’m so glad this franchise has now “ended” (I hope it has). The Nun films are awful, the Annabelle films are also pretty bad, and the rest is just utter garbage. The last Conjuring film was definitely disappointing and, with all due respect, I just think Michael Chaves is an awful director. They should’ve somehow brought James Wan back or hired another director — there are so many talented horror filmmakers who could’ve done this franchise justice, but no. The only thing I get from this franchise is that they don’t really care about story or characters; they just want jump scares and good CGI to keep the general audience entertained so they can earn their money. And I can’t judge — it’s a purposely bad franchise.
And as usual, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are the best thing about this film. They manage to deliver a satisfying conclusion thanks to the emotional intensity this film achieves in certain moments with their characters. Mia Tomlinson is another highlight — she’s absolutely great here, an amazing actress who delivers an intense performance. So yeah, the cast is what saves this film from being a total disaster. The direction is awful, the pacing is just as bad, and the story is simply not that interesting. It feels like they were trying too hard to make this film as long as possible; you could easily cut down an entire hour and it would still be able to tell the story it wants to tell.
But the film definitely delivers some great scares, and I think that’s enough for some people. The CGI work is also amazing. I had some favorite scenes for sure, especially one involving Annabelle and a mirror room (not going to delve into that because of spoilers, but you’ll know it when you see it). I rarely get jump-scared in films, but watching this in IMAX was definitely an exception.
But overall, you need a strong script to justify a 2-hour and 15-minute runtime, and this film just wasn’t able to deliver that. The Conjuring: Last Rites is a dull and exhausting conclusion that will certainly satisfy some viewers. It’s a dragged-out, uninspired story propped up only by effective jump scares and solid performances.
The Conjuring: Last Rites releases in theaters on September 4.
