Review of the movie The Conjuring 4: Last Rites

On September 4, the cinema began showing the horror film The Conjuring 4: Last Rites, which continues and, according to the subtitle, ends the long-running paranormal epic of Ed and Lorraine Warren. This is the ninth installment in the acclaimed horror franchise The Conjuring, launched by James Wan and his film of the same name in 2013. In the review below, we’ll figure out what the fourth full-fledged arrival of the tireless researchers of the infernal is more like — a truly exciting and eerie scarecrow, or maybe squeezing the last juices out of a clearly worn-out theme.

“The Conjuring: Last Rites”

Genre a horror movie about the supernatural
Director Michael Chavez
Starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Shannon Cook, Rebecca Calder, Peter White
Premiere movie theaters
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb, official website

In 1964, a young couple Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter a mysterious cursed mirror, which is actually their first interaction with the paranormal, followed by a brilliant career fighting all kinds of demons and other hellions. At the time, they never dared to follow through, and the couple, particularly Lorraine, went through a difficult childbirth when it seemed that their newborn daughter would not survive.

Fortunately, everything went well, and 22 years later, a pretty girl named Judy introduces her noticeably aged parents, who have retired from their profession, to her boyfriend, a former cop named Tony. But trouble comes when it’s least expected: an ominous mirror finds its way into the ordinary Smurl family, who live in a small Pennsylvania town. Over time, it begins to terrorize the unfortunate, and the situation develops in such a way that the Warrens have no choice but to help the suffering and meet the otherworldly evil face to face.

In 2013, James Wang, who at that time had a cult “Saw” (2004), the failed Dead Silence (2007) and the successful Insidious (2010) with the same Patrick Wilson, released The Conjuring, which became a universally recognized box office hit. Not surprisingly, these horror stories began to multiply like mushrooms after the rain: the main series, which now consists of four films, was supplemented by two story branches about the Annabelle doll and the Nun.

As a result, the eight previous films, excluding the Last Rite, grossed $2.2 billion with a total budget of $208 million, making The Conjuring the highest-grossing horror franchise in history. This meant that no matter what snobbish critics may grumble (I admit it), ordinary viewers were permanently interested in the Warrens’ adventures and encounters with surprisingly macabre dolls and nuns.

Late in the series’ development, director Michael Chavez, responsible for the last three films — The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), The Nun II (2023), and the Last Rites itself, joined the series, while Wan began to limit himself to writing and producing. And although there were fair questions about the quality of these opuses, two of the three were profitable at the box office; it’s too early to draw conclusions about the novelty in this context.

The fourth Conjuring, in the franchise’s good or bad tradition, is based on a true story known as the Smurl family case. In August 1973, they moved into a house in West Pittston, and later made a statement that a demon was living in their home. The case was widely publicized in the press, and the real Warrens were involved in 1986.

But the main problem with The Conjuring 4 is not that it is a worn-out secondary movie without any new ideas. The trouble is that against the backdrop of modern, intricate horror films full of metaphors, interesting visual solutions, and a fresh approach to the genre by young talented authors. This kind of supernatural horror in its traditional form is simply uncompetitive. And the peak of their popularity has long since passed. Rather, The Conjuring relies on its longtime fans and the brand’s trail of popularity, which was gained in a completely different film era.

That is, being next to the works of Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, Philippe brothers, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers and the like, straightforward stories about all these demons, dybbuks, mad nuns, and other monsters that inhabit defenseless idols. Or rapidly appear from behind a corner look pale. You can hardly frighten anyone today, let alone surprise anyone.

Ed has a serious heart problem, so let’s pull this lever at the most crucial moment, you’ll never guess. Judy has a boyfriend, and of course he will ask the girl to marry him in a cute, clumsy way so that we can worry about the future family as much as possible. Not to mention that the only way to defeat the eternal evil is if to cathartically unite the efforts of a friendly family. Even if it looks like a simple tug-of-war. But at least Dominic Toretto will be delighted.

Watching The Conjuring is only worth it if you are still a devoted fan of this franchise, which has noticeably deflated, and circle the release date of each new movie with a red marker on your calendar. Otherwise, get ready for more than two hours of dubious passions and boredom, diluted with sporadic appearances of those who have long ceased to scare.