I am hesitant when it comes to watching horror or thriller films because I dislike poor thematic and narrative representation. I particularly hate films that have futile endings. For example, Michael Myers never dies; he always returns and in the Wrong Turn franchise, most characters die. It’s like directors struggle to give characters a proper ending and closure. I understand they are a franchise, but compared to the Conjuring franchise, their endings are much more satisfactory.
One of the first horror movies that left an impression on me was “The Conjuring” (2013). I could rewatch it and it would still cause me to jump. Perhaps, it’s also the reason I have watched: “The Conjuring 2” (2016), “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (2021) and “The Conjuring: Last Rites” (2025).
There have been few films made in the last 25 years that honor the horror genre, but there is something about this franchise that makes viewers return for more. Is it because the films are based on true stories? Do they come back because of the characters? Or could it be how the films are directed?
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is the final film in the franchise, concluding the story of paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), alongside their daughter Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson).
When people say they have watched “The Hunger Games” (2012) or “The Maze Runner” (2014), for the first time in movie theaters, it itches my brain because I wish I had been a moviegoer when I was younger and demanded my parents take me to watch the latest movies that other teens wanted to see. To say the least, watching the film in theaters felt like a milestone. Not only am I watching the finale but, for the first time, I get to immerse myself in it on a bigger screen in a dark room with loud speakers.
When the text “Based on a true story” was presented on screen, I once again questioned how true this film was to the alleged haunting. So I researched to find out whether this case was even true.
I watched an interview conducted by Ed and Lorraine Warren’s son-in-law, where the Warrens discuss the Smurl family with support from their co-written book “The Hunted: One Family’s Nightmare” (1986). But it was not enough for me. I found an excerpt from Paul Kurtz, chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, in The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 11, where his writing reflects a bit of animosity towards the Warrens because they were welcomed into the Smurl’s house to investigate.
To be fair, Krutz told Times Leader in an August 1986 article that the Smurls needed to seek psychiatric help. He offered free treatment to the family, but they declined.
His article is based on a lot of he-said-she-said, which makes it hard to come to an answer. However, his reason for believing the Smurl’s case to be a hoax was due to the interviews his team, Barry Karr and Mary Beth Gehrman, conducted.
Debbie Watson, the next-door neighbor, reported hearing strange noises when no one was home, but other neighbors claimed to have never heard anything. Karr and Gehram even interviewed Steve Ellis, who had lived in the house for seventeen years before the Smurls; he reported nothing strange ever happening. To debunk the claims of the Smurls, Krutz thought the noises and objects moving could be due to the house being near abandoned mine beds and the foul odor from the sewer pipe.
Anyway, Krutz’s article raises a concern regarding whether the haunting was a hoax, and after reading and watching the interviews, I still don’t have an answer.
Perhaps the mystery and unknown behind the case is what makes “The Conjuring: Last Rites” so compelling. What I do know is that the movie follows a very similar story line to the actual events; viewers can thank director Michael Chaves for bringing the Smurl’s case from the archives to the screens.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
I thought Chaves did an impressive job intertwining the events from the Smurls’ haunting case and the last of the Warrens’ personal life into the final film.
I liked that the actors who played young Ed and Lorraine look remarkably similar to the main actors. Not all productions know where to find doppelgängers for their characters. I wish they had chosen them for the flashback scenes with young Judy Warren. It confused me to see the actors Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in those scenes because it didn’t make sense that they had aged so quickly. I think it may have been a last-minute scene, and/or Farmiga and Wilson wanting more screen time.
The film focuses on Judy’s growing psychic ability and the demon who appears in the first scene with the Warrens.
I can see why Chaves chose the Smurl’s case, with a demon and three spirits; there is room for creativity in frightening scenes. I don’t think there is anything scarier than seeing a demon in the operating room while giving birth or puking up gallons of blood for breakfast, all of which happened in the first 30 minutes. I actually thought I was going to puke because I started gagging at the breakfast scene and had to look away. I was anxious like 98% of the time.
I thought Judy’s introduction was valuable; there is no denying she played a big role. The audience watches her find a partner and learn why Ed and Lorraine feel protective of her.
I like how we got to see a different side of the Warrens; they are not just paranormal investigators or a married couple. The Warrens are parents and have accepted that their daughter has grown up. It was a satisfactory way to display the Warrens’ relationship with their daughter while tying her to the Smurl case. Even though I didn’t like how Judy went to the Smurl’s house, I guess there was no other way to connect the case to the Warrens since they had stopped taking cases.
I still feel like Judy could have shared her vision with her mother, who is an expert in psychic abilities and solves paranormal cases for a living. However, looking back, I suppose Chaves wanted to display conflict through a mother-daughter relationship.
I am about to contradict myself because I had one problem with the ending. The exorcism scene felt rushed and cringy. I want to think that if production had selected a scarier climactic soundtrack during the scene, it wouldn’t have felt like a Hollywood movie. During the scene, Judy also performs the exorcism. I wished we saw more of Judy’s psychic abilities rather than only seeing her jump into an exorcism with her parents.
The research gave me an answer to why the ending felt rushed. The real case was never solved by the Warrens and Judy was never involved. This makes me believe production wrote the last few ending scenes from scratch. It wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy the movie, I did. But I think the Warrens and Judy needed more time at the Smurl house.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is proof that sometimes the ending isn’t everything.
