After years of anticipation, The Conjuring: Last Rites proves the wait was worth it. The film didn’t disappoint the hype. Directed by Micheal Chaves, the film returns to the familiar world of Ed and Lorraine Warren, blending supernatural terror with the three F’s: Family, Faith, and Finality. This isn’t just another haunted house story, it’s a cinematic farewell to Ed and Lorraine’s career and legacy.
Set in the 1980s, the movie follows the haunting of the Smurl family whose home became targeted by the supernatural entity. As chaos grows, veteran investigators, Ed and Lorraine, are drawn back into the field for what becomes their most personal case yet. Their daughter Judy, who is now older, has grown confidence, and feeling more independent, leaves Father Gordon’s funeral and as she is drawn toward the Smurl house.
There is a mirror in the house that is cursed and the demon who is cursing the Smurls wants Judy, hence Judy’s pull toward the house. The demon wants Judy because it was denied her soul 20 years prior when the demon caused stillbirth. The mirror is essentially a conduit for the demon, like the Annabelle doll and the other artifacts that the Warrens collect from their investigations. Even though two of the Smurl girls throw the mirror out early in the movie, it appears back in their attic later on.
The haunting started quietly, doors creaked open on their own, whispers echoed through empty rooms, and the lights flickered for no reason at all. Escalating quickly, dark handprints appear on the walls, and the family’s youngest daughter, Dawn Smurl, vomited both blood and shards of glass, leaving the family traumatized. That was when the family finally understood this wasn’t something they could explain or escape from on their own.
When the Warrens arrived at the Smurl house, their goal was to just bring Judy home, but they were soon persuaded to stay and investigate the haunting. As they began their work, they discovered a powerful demonic presence manipulating three other trapped spirits to torment the family. During their search, they uncovered a cursed mirror that seemed to be the center of the entity’s influence, twisting reality and feeding on the family’s fear.
The demon possesses Judy after her failed attempt at breaking the mirror. When Ed approached her, the demon triggered him to have a heart attack and led Judy to the attic. In the attic, Judy is lifted into the air by a rope tightening around her neck. Although, right before she dies from hanging herself, her fiancé, Tony, saves her just in time, releasing her from being possessed.
Lorraine, Ed, and Judy work together saying prayers to try and shatter the mirror. Shattering the mirror releases the demon and ends it’s influence over the Smurl family. With the evil spirit gone, the family can breathe again. The Warrens leave knowing they have restored peace, even if the haunting has left it’s mark on everyone involved.