The Conjuring: Last Rites focuses on family first

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the scariest of them all? The Conjuring team has raised the stakes in the ninth installment of the franchise with Last Rites.

Once upon a time this scary tale begins in 1964 then moves to 1986 before it ends with the future of the characters.

Ed and Lorraine Warren have a daughter named Judy who they raise as normally as possible while investigating paranormal activity. In the understatement of the year, Lorraine warns Judy's suitor, “This is not a normal family.”

Meanwhile, the eight is enough Smurl family is struggling in Pennsylvania because of a large mirror that acts as a gateway for a demon to enter their home. A trio of Warrens and Judy's boyfriend Tony Spera eventually take up the challenge to drive the bad spirits out of the house.

The pop out scares and visual special effects are often presented as throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. One tactic is a trick parlayed from some of the previous films where a monster slowly comes into light. This works well in live theater setting as viewers will be startled at random times and ghosts appear before their very eyes on the big screen.

The pacing is good with realistic dialogue delivered by talented performers. This elevates the material from some of the schlock that creeps into the horror genre at times. Adding some of the true events helps as well to ground the film and the Warren Occult Museum is packed with haunted knick-knacks to keep the film going. A cracked antique mirror as a villain seems a bit out of whack though and Annabelle just won't stay in hell.

he Conjuring family values continues to be a fun watch and director Michael Chavis continues to build a resume full of spooky stories.

Is the Last Rites really the last one for the Warrens? One can only pray that more naughty nuns are no longer on the horizon and the resolution at the end will hopefully satisfy The Conjuring's cult of followers. In real life the Warren's son in law Tony Spera still owns items from the now closed Warren Occult Museum with a possible new location to be announced next month. This could drum up more business for the devil detectives in the future.

Until then check out some of the various documentaries about the real Ed and Lorraine shown in the credit sequence at the end. While the truth lies in the eye of the beholder, sometimes what haunts us is what we don't see.

The Conjuring: Last Rites creeps into theaters on September 5, 2025 at the right time.