Vera Farmiga plays Lorraine Warren. Patrick Wilson plays Ed Warren. They have played this couple since the first Conjuring film in 2013. That long run is rare in horror. You know these characters. You know their home, their museum, and their faith. This film leans on that bond for its scares and its tears.
A retired couple pulled back for one case
Michael Chaves directs. Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick write the script. The story draws on the Smurl haunting case. The Smurl family lived in West Pittston, Pennsylvania in 1986. Their home turned hostile, and the Warrens were drawn into it.
In the film, Ed and Lorraine are mostly retired. Ed has heart trouble. Their lectures draw small crowds. Their daughter Judy, played by Mia Tomlinson as an adult, is about to marry Tony Spera, played by Ben Hardy. That family peace is the film's base. Then the Smurl case breaks it.
A mirror links the new case to an old one. The film opens in 1964, with Ed and Lorraine on an early case. Lorraine, pregnant with Judy, faces an entity tied to that mirror. The film then jumps to 1986, when the same mirror reaches the Smurl home. That link makes the case personal. The demon haunts strangers and hunts Judy.
Young Warrens, played by young actors
The 1964 opening uses a smart choice. Instead of digital de-aging, the film casts younger actors. Madison Lawlor plays young Lorraine. Orion Smith plays young Ed. Director Michael Chaves said Farmiga pushed for that choice. She wanted real young actors, not digital tricks.
That choice pays off. The young scenes feel human, not smoothed over. You see a young couple at the start of their work, full of love and fear. Then you cut to the older couple, tired and worn, facing the same evil again. That contrast gives the finale its weight.
The Smurl home, and the mirror at its heart
Rebecca Calder plays Janet Smurl. Elliot Cowan plays Jack Smurl. Their daughters face knocks, lights that fall, and spirits that will not leave. Kila Lord Cassidy plays Heather Smurl. Beau Gadsdon plays Dawn Smurl. The family tries to throw the mirror away. The haunting follows them anyway.
The film says three spirits torment the home: an elderly woman, a younger woman, and an axe man. A demon controls them. Lorraine learns the demon wants Judy. Ed tries to exorcise the mirror and fails at first. The film then turns to Judy's own gift. Lorraine tells her to embrace her psychic power, not shut it off. That turn is the film's emotional core.
Ed's heart gives out under strain. Lorraine prays. Judy fights back. The family recites a prayer that destroys the mirror. The Smurls then live three more years in the home without further hauntings, based on the film's closing text. The mirror's remains go to the Warrens' occult museum. That museum has held the series' cursed objects from the start. It is a fitting shelf for this one.
A wedding ends the Warren story
The film ends with Judy's wedding to Tony. Ed walks her down the aisle. Lorraine dances with Ed and shares a vision of their future. It is a soft end for a horror series. It says the Warrens earned peace, even after a life of cases.
That soft end split critics. Some praised Farmiga and Wilson. Some found the scares less sharp than the first film. Rotten Tomatoes lists 57 percent positive from 190 critics. Metacritic lists 54 out of 100. CinemaScore audiences gave it a B. PostTrak found 58 percent would definitely recommend it. In short, fans liked the farewell more than critics liked the scares.
The box office rewrote series history
The film cost $55 million to make. It earned $499.3 million worldwide. That total includes $177.8 million in the United States and Canada. It opened with $84 million in its first weekend in the United States. That was the best opening in the series, and the third biggest ever for a horror film at that time.
It also set records abroad. In the Philippines, it broke horror opening records. In India, it passed Final Destination Bloodlines to become the highest-grossing American horror film there. Those numbers show the Conjuring brand still travels well. Horror fans around the world turned up for the Warrens one last time.
What comes next for the series
The Warrens story ends here, but the series does not. A prequel, The Conjuring: First Communion, is set for September 10, 2027, based on studio and trade coverage. A pay dispute report said James Wan may not be part of that prequel. That detail is still reported, not settled in full.
For now, Last Rites stands as the closing chapter for Farmiga and Wilson. They gave this couple 12 years of life on screen. They made Ed and Lorraine feel like real partners on screen. That is why the farewell landed, even when the scares did not always match the first film.
If you watch it, watch for the wedding scenes last. They are quiet, and they hit harder than most jump scares. They remind you that this series was always about a couple who faced evil together, and who stayed together through it.
Unconfirmed or reported, not stated as confirmed fact: the prequel title, date, and Wan's involvement are reported studio and trade details that can still change, and the Smurl case details are presented as the film's version of a real-life case, not a proven record of events.
Sources and reporting
- Wikipedia — 2026 · Verifies the September 5, 2025 US date, Chaves direction, writing credits, cast, $55 million budget, and $499.3 million gross.
- Bleeding Cool — September 14, 2025 · Verifies the young actor casting choice, Lawlor and Smith in the prologue, and Farmiga's role in that choice.
- CinemaBlend — 2025 · Verifies the September 5, 2025 date, Chaves direction, writing credits, and the full lead cast.
