The Warrens are set to make their final bow. After spawning three sequels and an entire cinematic universe about the many cursed objects that reside in the couple’s occult museum, the final “Conjuring” film is coming out this September. If you want a recap of all of the cases the infamous couple has explored on the silver screen since the first movie freaked out audiences around the globe, then check out the video posted above.
The fictionalized adventures of real-life demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) have been pretty popular at the box office and fairly popular with critics. The first film holds an 86% fresh critical score at Rotten Tomatoes, and it pulled in $319.5 million at the box office. “The Conjuring 2” did slightly better, making $320.4 million worldwide while also being a critical success with an 80% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. The terrifying threequel, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” marked a dire milestone for the franchise; while it managed to earn $206.4 million in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s the first film in the quadrilogy to be deemed critically rotten at 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. Will this final film restore the franchise to its former critical glory?
The Conjuring: Last Rites will take it all home
Much like the other movies in the series before it, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is based on a real-life case the Warrens dealt with. In this case, it’s the haunting of the Smurl family that will center the film’s narrative. In the film, set in 1986 Pennsylvania, the Smurls have been dealing with demons for over a year when they reach out to the Warrens. They claim that they’ve experienced all sorts of untoward violence, including sexual assault, since the demons began attacking them. Though they’re heading toward retirement, the Warrens take up the case, but it turns out that the demon that’s their first quarry is an entity so horrifying that they run away in fear from it.
In real life, the Smurls weren’t exorcised successfully by the Warrens, but by a local priest. They later moved to another Pennsylvania town, and their house was taken over by new tenants who claimed they experienced nothing supernatural. How much of this reality will “Last Rites” echo? Well, since the “Conjuring” films don’t always tell the full, true story about their subjects, there’s no telling what might make it to the big screen when the film is released on September 5.
