The Conjuring Universe has never been subtle, but it’s always known how to deliver a punch. Last Rites, the final chapter in Phase One of the franchise, is anticipated with heavy anticipation. A dramatic sendoff. A dreadful finale. Instead, what we get is a film that can’t determine whether it wants to torment us or hug us.
Set in the mid-60s, the film begins with a promising premise: a cursed mirror, the Warrens’ first brush with it, and a traumatic childbirth that sets the emotional tone. That emotional angle—Lorraine’s grief, her faith, the miracle of baby Judy—should’ve been the heart. But the script doesn’t trust its horror enough. It lingers too long on tears and not enough on terror.
Judy, played by Mia Tomlinson, glimpses visions that grow increasingly worrisome as her wedding approaches. Meanwhile, across the state, the mirror resurfaces in the hands of the Smurl family, unleashing chaos and wicked spirits. It’s classic Conjuring material on paper.
But on screen? It’s too checked, too glossy, like a haunted house with the lights still on.
Director Michael Chaves definitely tries to include some emotional depth, but that hurts the pacing. The scares are overly telegraphed, while the background score tried its best to build tension and pain, but to little success. This is worsened because most of the horror beats felt like variations of what we have seen previously: Mirrors cracking. Doors creaking. From fast things that disappear the moment you look down, to a slower pace. We have seen it, and we have seen it better.
That said, the performances are strong. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are still at the heart of the series. They instil even the flattest scenes with weight and bring emotional weight, and their co-star chemistry continues to be the emotional crux of the films. Tomlinson is also a revelation; she interprets Judy with a quiet strength and vulnerability. Ben Hardy is only there for a moment and is subsequently removed from the narrative entirely.
The real disappointment is that Last Rites forgets what made the earlier Conjuring films special. That perfect storm of grounded horror and emotional stakes. Here, the stakes feel forced, the scares feel safe, and the story never quite earns its finale status.
This isn’t a bad film. It’s just not a memorable one. And for a franchise that once redefined mainstream horror, that’s the scariest part.
IWMBuzz rates it 2.5/5 stars.
