The following review is for a film rated R by the MPA. The film contains mild profanity, extreme violence, blood, and visceral gore.

American cinema is currently going through a horror renaissance, primarily because the film industry as a whole is struggling in the wake of the pandemic shutting down the entire industry in 2020, and horror is the easiest genre to profit from. And the most profitable of all the horror franchises is The Conjuring film universe—all ten films together have grossed over $2.5 billion in theaters.

The Conjuring: Last Rites adds to that success with the highest-grossing opening weekend for a horror film of all time—the film made $194 million globally in that first weekend—and continued a hot streak for Warner Bros., which is now the second studio in history to have six straight releases open to over $40 million.

Unfortunately, Last Rites doesn’t reach the heights of other 2025 horror films like Companion, Final Destination: Bloodlines, or Weapons. It doesn’t even stand out in its own franchise and will likely be remembered more for its box office records than for what it put on the screen.

For those not in the know, the Conjuring films follow the cases of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ed was a self-taught demonologist, and Lorraine alleged that she possessed the gift of clairvoyance that allowed her to see spirits, communicate with the dead, and receive spiritual impressions. While many dismissed the Warrens as charlatans in real life, the Conjuring films take their case files as 100% true.

Last Rites centers on a 1986 case the Warrens investigated, that of the Smurl family of Pittston, Pennsylvania. Parents Jack and Janet give their daughter Heather an antique hand mirror to celebrate her confirmation to the Catholic Church, but strange accidents and visions of wicked spirits drive the family to contact the Warrens. Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) refuse, as they have retired and are busy planning the wedding of their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) to her fiancé Tony (Ben Hardy). Yet the Warrens’ forgotten past with the mirror draws the two families together to break the demonic curse over both.

The heart of this film is still Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens. The pair have wonderful chemistry and, after five films as Ed and Lorraine, play a pitch-perfect couple. The two actors are equally sweet and kooky, and it’s impossible not to root for them. That being said, nothing is really new about their performance—the film plays the same beats that it did in Conjuring 2 and Conjuring 3: Lorraine worries about Ed dying due to her visions, Ed tells anyone who will listen about how much he loves his wife, and the couple’s love conquers demonic forces.

However, the best part of the film is Mia Tomlinson as Judy Warren. While Judy has previously been portrayed excellently in these films by Sterling Jerins and Mckenna Grace, Tomlinson remakes Judy into the film’s protagonist, balancing the inquisitive courage and emotional trauma one would have as the child of two ghost hunters. She is a great addition to the film, and if the huge box office returns convince WB that the Conjuring franchise should keep going, Tomlinson would make a great new protagonist now that her parents are retired.

Sadly, this is where the compliments for the film end. Last Rites is overwhelmingly okay, and it doesn’t do anything to make itself memorable or unique. The first half of the film drags as it keeps the Warrens and the Smurls separate—sure, this is an important plot point, but the film doesn’t use that time to make the Smurls into interesting characters. Conjuring and Conjuring 2 worked because, despite each being a slow burn, the personality conflicts between members of the haunted families kept things interesting. Granted, it doesn’t help that the Smurl family has eight members to introduce (as it did in real life), but the lack of character development weakens the second half of the movie because it’s super hard to care about these characters.

There are certainly plenty of jump scares and terrifying scenes to bring to life the reported true story, especially in the second half, but director Michael Chaves just recycles the scares James Wan put in the first two Conjuring films. An ordinary object you suddenly realize is being held up by a ghost? Check. Reflections of someone who isn’t there in a haunted object? Check. People getting yeeted through the air by demonic forces? Check.

Ironically, the formulaic scares should couple with a formulaic plot, but the storyline is overly mixed-up and convoluted. What pushes the Warrens to finally take the case is silly and not believable, and the way the evil is defeated is straight-up insulting to the intelligence of the audience. Worst of all, the film doesn’t explore or explain the motives of the demonic antagonist. While previous Conjuring baddies Malthus (Annabelle), Bathsheba, and Valek the Nun had clear goals and motivations for targeting the family, the audience never gets a satisfying answer as to why the mirror demon does what it does. This ends up leaving the audience with many unanswered questions, which is the opposite of what the last entry in a film series should do.

Overall, Last Rites is watchable and nails its lead performances and visually disturbing scares. However, the pace of the storyline is slow, the scares are few in the first half, and this makes a good chunk of the film rather boring. The story of the haunted mirror has potential, but this movie feels more like a mix of scenes just thrown together by Michael Chaves than a fitting farewell to the Warrens. With so many great films in theaters right now, only the die-hard Conjuring fans should check this out on the big screen; everyone else, wait for streaming.