The question was, “How can we land this with as much emotional impact as possible, while delivering all the scares you’ve come to expect?” We wanted something that had gravitas, more emotional weight, that would serve as a fitting conclusion for these characters. We knew we wanted to go for something… bigger,” says director Michael Chaves of The Conjuring: Last Rites, the ninth entry in the more than $2 billion theatrical Conjuring Universe.
In The Conjuring: Last Rites, the veil between sanctity and terror grows thin. Set against the unravelling quiet of 1980s Pennsylvania and the cloistered echoes of a Vatican vault, the film marks a chilling culmination of the Warrens’ legacy.
Drawing from the real-life Smurl haunting and whispers of a suppressed relic scandal, director Michael Chaves crafts a final chapter pulsing with theological dread, familial fracture, and the price of bearing witness to evil. It’s less an exorcism than an elegy—a requiem for belief in the face of possession, memory, and the haunting persistence of secrecy.
In its ninth and final instalment, The Conjuring: Last Rites functions as both a spiritual reckoning and a narrative crescendo, weaving threads from across the franchise into a tapestry of legacy, loss, and faith.
Rather than relying solely on familiar spectacle, the film favors emotional weight and thematic resonance, drawing deeply from past cases: Annabelle’s cursed innocence, The Nun’s ecclesiastical dread, and The Devil Made Me Do It’s courtroom possession.
Directed by Michael Chaves and produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, the film reunites Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the famed paranormal investigators, alongside Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy as their daughter Judy and her boyfriend Tony Spera.
Interview with Director / Executive Producer Michael Chaves
“I feel very blessed and very honoured that the Conjuring has caught on and been as big as it has been,” says Producer James Wan. “It’s such a large part of so many people’s lives. I have fans that will chat to me all the time, telling me how much these films mean to them and how much they want them to continue. That just tells me that I must have done something right, especially with the first movie and the subsequent films that we made after that. People want to keep coming back to visit these characters and be in this world. As any filmmaker might tell you, we’re on this planet for a short amount of time and the legacy you’ll get to leave behind is your films—your art, so to speak. It’s very gratifying for me to know that when I’m eventually gone, these films will live on for as long as there are films.”
Set in the late 1980s, the Warrens investigate the infamous Smurl haunting in Pennsylvania—a case involving demonic infestation, spectral violence, and a family on the brink. As the Warrens confront malevolent forces that blur the line between possession and psychological torment, the film explores themes of faith, legacy, and the cost of bearing witness to evil.
Judy Warren’s emergence as a psychic heir connects generations of spiritual trauma, while Ed and Lorraine’s final investigation tests not only their resolve but their belief system itself. The climax doesn’t offer clean triumph; it offers endurance, with love flickering against the backdrop of evil. Their haunted artifacts become not trophies of terror, but monuments to memory—each whispering the cost of bearing witness. In this way, Last Rites isn’t just an ending—it’s an echo chamber where faith, fear, and history collide.
The Conjuring: Last Rites delivers another thrilling chapter of the iconic Conjuring cinematic Universe, based on real events. Directed by franchise veteran Michael Chaves from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick & James Wan, based on characters created by Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes, and produced by franchise architects James Wan and Peter Safran.
Director Michael Chaves is an American filmmaker known for his atmospheric contributions to modern horror, particularly within The Conjuring Universe. Chaves began his career directing short films like The Maiden, which won Best Super Short Horror Film at Shriekfest 2016. He later created the Nickelodeon web series Chase Champion, showcasing his early flair for genre storytelling. His breakout into feature films came with The Curse of La Llorona (2019), followed by The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) and The Nun II (2023), all produced by James Wan. Chaves is celebrated for his ability to blend visual tension with emotional depth, often exploring themes of faith, trauma, and the supernatural. His direction of The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) marks the franchise’s spiritual finale, cementing his role as a key architect of its cinematic legacy.
Ian Goldberg is an American screenwriter and producer best known for his work in genre television and horror cinema. He rose to prominence as a showrunner and writer for Fear the Walking Dead, where his storytelling often explored moral ambiguity and post-apocalyptic psychology. Goldberg has also contributed to series like Dead of Summer and Once Upon a Time, showcasing his range across fantasy and thriller formats. In film, he co-wrote The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), a critically acclaimed horror piece noted for its claustrophobic dread and narrative precision. His collaboration with Richard Naing has become a hallmark of modern horror writing, culminating in their work on The Nun II and The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025), where theological unease meets domestic terror.
Richard Naing is an American screenwriter and producer who has carved a distinct niche in the horror genre through his ability to craft suspenseful, emotionally charged narratives. He co-wrote The Autopsy of Jane Doe, a breakout film praised for its atmospheric tension and minimalist horror. Naing continued to explore themes of isolation and hidden truths in Eli (2019), and later expanded The Conjuring Universe with The Nun II and Last Rites. His television credits include Dead of Summer and Fear the Walking Dead, where he demonstrated a knack for serialized dread and character-driven storytelling. Naing’s work often blends psychological unease with supernatural elements, creating horror that lingers beyond the screen.
David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick is an American screenwriter and producer whose career spans horror, fantasy, and blockbuster cinema. He began as a production assistant on The Shawshank Redemption, filmed in his hometown of Mansfield, Ohio, and later became a longtime collaborator of Frank Darabont. Johnson-McGoldrick wrote Orphan (2009), Wrath of the Titans (2012), and several entries in The Conjuring Universe, including The Conjuring 2, The Devil Made Me Do It, and Last Rites. He also penned Aquaman and its sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, blending mythic spectacle with emotional stakes. His writing often explores the intersection of belief, trauma, and myth, making him a versatile voice in both horror and fantasy storytelling.
