“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is finally here.
And judging by the marketing materials, this “Conjuring” sequel – the fourth mainline entry and ninth film in the larger Conjuring Universe or tenth if you count “The Curse of La Llorona” (which you definitely should). At a time when every studio was interested in building an interconnected world full of movies and their related spinoffs, New Line Cinema and producer James Wan made one of the sturdiest and most successful with “The Conjuring.” Think of it as a cinematic haunted house, with each movie or series of movies opening off into a different ghost-filled room.
The prospect of having to digest an entire cinematic universe before its (again: supposed) finale can seem a little daunting. Let’s try to cut things back to the basics and get you ready for ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites” as best we can.
The Warrens Are Ghost Hunters
The most important thing you need to remember, going into “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” is who the Warrens are. Ed and Lorraine Warren, played memorably by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga throughout the franchise, are real-life paranormal investigators and ghost hunters. The husband-and-wife team, who lived in Connecticut, for many years had an active life that combined a circuit of lectures, presentations and investigations into troubling supernatural phenomena.
In the “Conjuring” films and related spinoffs, the Warrens are presented as God-fearing Christians whose marriage is the central strength of their brushes with the demonic and otherworldly. (Their marriage is also, crucially, the emotional center of these movies.) Their investigations are always treated with the utmost reality; these things actually happened to them and the people they were investigating.
In real life, there are some very unsavory allegations against the Warrens, chiefly that the couple “adopted” a teenage girl, who was then held captive by the Warrens and used by Ed for his sexual pleasure. It probably also goes without saying that they were most likely hucksters, with much of their “proof” fabricated and otherwise invented.
Again: keep this stuff out of your mind. Just good to have a little historical context and texture, even though it is pretty icky.
They’ve Typically Investigated Haunted Houses
The first two mainline movies in the “Conjuring” franchise were centered around a haunted house, with director Wan (who would then transition to a solely producer role) engaging in everything that you’d probably expect from a haunted house movie – scary noises, ghosts suddenly appearing, lovely tracking shots that neatly establish the geography of the house. If you’ve seen movies like “Poltergeist,” “The Changeling” and “The Amityville Horror” (which, as this franchise reminds us, was based on a Warren investigation), you’ll know what you’re getting into with the movies.
For the third film, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” which was released in 2021 simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, thanks to the Project Popcorn debacle, the movies veered into territory usually reserved a courtroom drama. And you know what? It was just as cool.
Certainly their cases build on one another, but they are pretty self-contained. You don’t really need to have seen the first three movies – or any of the spinoffs – to enjoy “The Conjuring: Last Rites.” But it couldn’t hurt.
This is Something Different
All of this brings us to “The Conjuring: Last Rites.”
In the new movie, we actually flash back to an earlier case the Warrens have investigated, back in 1964. (Keep in mind this is just four years before the first movie took place, Wilson and Farmiga are virtually ageless, and yet they completely recast the roles with younger actors.) They are investigating a haunted mirror, but are interrupted by Lorraine going into labor.
In 1986, the main investigation takes place and – wouldn’t you know it? – it ties back into the earlier case.
Director Michael Chaves, who directed “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” and two other installments in the universe (“The Curse of La Llarona” and “The Nun II”), has said that they discussed making this movie, since it could be the final installment, a kind of mega-“Conjuring” movie. It could draw in all of the Warrens’ cases, contain several ghosts and generally be the series’ “Avengers: Endgame.” Instead, they went the opposite direction, having a new case tie back to a moment in the couples’ past and deliberately making it more intimate and personal.
And, of course, since this installment is set in 1986, there are some deliberate throwbacks to classic horror movies of the era, like “Poltergeist.” That’s cool too.
Sure, Watch “Annabelle Comes Home,” As a Treat
You’re probably wondering if you need to watch any of the spinoffs too. There are, after all, two movies based around “The Nun,” a character that appeared in “The Conjuring 2;” and three movies centered on “Annabelle,” a haunted doll from the first movie. (The actual doll in the Warrens collection is a Raggedy Ann doll, but you know copyrights and licensing and the like.) Many of these films are quite fun and scary but they are pretty much all inessential to the larger “Conjuring” narrative, especially as it relates to “The Conjuring: Last Rites.”
But we still would recommend “Annabelle Comes Home,” as a treat.
The third film in the “Annabelle” series is set entirely within the Warrens’ home. Written and directed by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the other “Annabelle” movies and “The Nun,” it follows the Warrens’ young daughter (played my Mckenna Grace), who is left alone with a babysitter (Madison Iseman) while the Warrens are away on a case. (It’s best not to wonder if the babysitter character is a surrogate for Ed’s underage sex slave.) While the Warrens are away, various items in their haunted museum, including the Annabelle doll, spring to life. And it’s an absolute delight.
Besides the first two, Wan-directed “Conjuring” movies, “Annabelle Comes Home” is the highlight of the entire franchise. It’s unclear whether it will add anything to your enjoyment of “The Conjuring: Last Rites.” But it’s a ton of fun nonetheless.