The end isn’t just near. It’s knocking on the Warrens’ front door.
Cue the flickering lights, spine-tingling violins, and that oh-so-familiar clap. New Line Cinema has just dropped the full trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rites, and yes, horror hounds, this is it. The final bow for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren is upon us. If the trailer’s demonic energy is any indicator, they’re going out not with a whimper, but with a terrifying, soul-snatching scream.
This September 5, horror’s first couple returns for one last investigation. It’s a case that dares to ask the unthinkable: What finally scared the Warrens enough to stop?
A Bittersweet Last Rite: The End of an Era
Let’s take a second to let it sink in. Since James Wan’s The Conjuring burst into theaters in 2013 like a bat out of hell (a beautifully-lit, 1970s hell, to be specific), the franchise has summoned more than $2 billion at the global box office. That’s not just rare for horror. That’s downright unheard of. For a genre so often reduced to low budgets and midnight showings, The Conjuring Universe became a blockbuster juggernaut.
Central to it all were Farmiga and Wilson, the emotional, ghost-hunting heart of the series. As real-life demonologists, Lorraine and Ed Warren gave these films more than jump scares and spinning crucifixes. They gave it soul. Now, with Last Rites, they’re closing the book on their haunted legacy.
The Final Case: The Smurl Haunting
In Last Rites, director Michael Chaves (returning after The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) takes us to the eerie small town of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, just outside Scranton, to investigate the infamous Smurl haunting. Yes, horror enthusiasts, this is the real deal.
The Smurl case, which tormented the family from 1974 to 1989, is a lesser-known but deeply disturbing footnote in Warren lore. Reports of shadow figures, ghastly odors, violent attacks, and even an alleged demonic sexual assault plagued the household. That’s not a typo; look it up. They gave it soul-pure nightmare fuel.
It wasn’t just ghost-story enthusiasts who came knocking. Genre legend Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in The Exorcist, even visited the house. If Father Karras thought it was worth checking out, you know the vibes were seriously off.
The trailer teases a drawn-out spiritual war, with the Warrens attempting to decipher whether this haunting is a hoax or something that could tear the family and them apart. Spoiler alert: it’s the second one.
Meet the Next Generation (And Maybe the Next Spin-Off?)
Last Rites doesn’t just mark an end. It lays groundwork for what could be next. The film introduces Judy Warren (Mia Tomlinson) and her boyfriend Tony Spera (Ben Hardy), who are given surprisingly meaty roles in the trailer. It’s not hard to imagine Warner Bros. eyeing these two as potential leads in future spin-offs or that much-whispered-about HBO Max series still in development as of last summer.
Also returning is fan-favorite Father Gordon (Steve Coulter), the veteran priest who never seems to get a break. Rounding out the cast are Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, John Brotherton, and Shannon Kook.
Yes, horror hounds, keep your eyes peeled. There is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the trailer showing young Ed and Lorraine. Could we be getting a taste of their Amityville years? Nothing has been confirmed, but the fan theories are already spiraling.
One Last Time with the Dream Team
This ninth (yes, ninth) installment is being shepherded by franchise staples. Michael Chaves directs from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, based on a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan, with characters created by Chad and Carey Hayes. Of course, The Conjuring godfathers James Wan and Peter Safran return as producers.
The film is another co-production between The Safran Company and Wan’s Atomic Monster, and it will be released only in theaters and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 5 in North America, and internationally beginning September 3.
The Future of the Franchise: Possession Never Dies
Just because the Warrens are retiring doesn’t mean The Conjuring Universe is going dark. With whispers of that upcoming HBO Max series (rumored to focus on the couple’s earlier years, possibly even Amityville), and with Warner Bros. likely unwilling to let a billion-dollar demon franchise lie still in its grave, there’s more horror to come. But Last Rites promises to close this particular chapter with the blood, trauma, and theological terror fans have come to love.
