The Conjuring: Last Rites opens across India today—Friday, September 5, 2025. This film brings Ed and Lorraine Warren back to the big screen for what’s being called the final chapter of the first era of this $2-billion horror franchise.
The new film is directed by Michael Chaves, who also helmed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Nun II. The script was written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, with a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. It’s inspired by the Warrens’ real-life investigation into the Smurl haunting.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the lead characters. They are joined by Mia Tomlinson, who plays Judy Warren, and Ben Hardy as Tony Spera.
The film was released by Warner Bros. in parts of Southeast Asia on September 3, with India and the U.S. following today.
The real case behind the scares:
The Smurl family of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, reported years of terrifying phenomena—assaults, apparitions, poltergeist activity—drawing the Warrens to the duplex in the mid-1980s. The case became a media storm, spawning a book and TV movie, and remains controversial: believers cite the Warrens’ testimony; skeptics call it hysteria or hoax. The film mines that tension, dramatizing the Warrens’ attempt to separate trauma from the truly preternatural
The Conjuring Universe at a glance
The franchise began with The Conjuring (2013) and splintered into connected strands: the Annabelle trilogy, The Nun duology, and the core Conjuring films—now capped by Last Rites. Below is a crisp refresher so your readers can map where the new film fits.
Where Last Rites fits—and why it matters
Last Rites clicks into 1986 on the franchise timeline, after the Johnson case and years of artifact collecting have taken a spiritual toll. The Smurl haunting lets the film revisit the series’ oldest questions: How much of the “evil” is grief wearing a mask? Can ritual protect love, or does obsession invite darkness? And what happens when the Warrens themselves become the most tempting targets? As a finale, it’s less about out-gunning prior scares and more about summing up the relationships, artifacts, and demons that defined the universe—while giving Ed and Lorraine a closing chapter that feels earned. Guides from recent coverage even frame it as the conclusion to the Warrens’ story within the larger Conjuring tapestry.
Speed-Run Through The Conjuring Universe
It all began with The Conjuring (2013), where the Warrens helped the Perron family survive a farmhouse siege in Rhode Island—an instant classic that set the series’ rules: faith versus malice, artifact-laced lore, and scares grounded in “case files.” The Conjuring 2 (2016) hopped to 1977 London for the Enfield haunting and revealed the franchise’s most iconic big bad, Valak (the Demon Nun), who shadowed Lorraine’s visions. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) pivoted from haunted house to courtroom, dramatizing the Arne Johnson case and a satanic curse thread that widened the Warrens’ world beyond one address. Running parallel is the Annabelle trilogy: Annabelle (2014) introduces the doll as a demonic conduit that terrorizes new parents; Annabelle: Creation (2017) serves as the origin—an orphan, a grieving couple, and a pact that opens the door to possession; Annabelle Comes Home (2019) brings the horror into the Warrens’ own artifact room for a night-of-many-monsters siege on their daughter, Judy.
The Nun branch reaches back in time: The Nun (2018) sends Sister Irene to a Romanian abbey to confront Valak’s origin, while The Nun II (2023) tracks the demon’s spread across Europe as Irene races to save a familiar soul nicknamed Frenchie. Adjacent to all this is The Curse of La Llorona (2019), a period chiller that brings back Father Perez from Annabelle—a connection that’s been debated by fans and even producers, but it’s commonly discussed alongside the core films. As Last Rites bows, the universe’s threads—Warrens, Valak, Annabelle, the artifact room—feel purpose-built to braid together, whether as farewells, callbacks, or fresh torments
Watch Sequentially for a Better Experience
- The Nun (2018): This movie takes place in 1952 and is the beginning of the timeline. It introduces the demon Valak, also known as the Nun.
- Annabelle: Creation (2017): Set in 1955, this film shows the terrifying origin story of the Annabelle doll.
- The Nun II (2023): This sequel follows Sister Irene’s story in 1956, picking up a few years after the first Nun film.
- Annabelle (2014): The events of this film, which focuses on the doll’s haunting of a family, take place in 1967.
- The Conjuring (2013): The movie that started it all, set in 1971. This is the first time we meet paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
- Annabelle Comes Home (2019): This film takes place in 1972 and is centered on the Warrens’ daughter, Judy, as she deals with a breakout of the haunted artifacts in her family’s home.
- The Curse of La Llorona (2019): Set in 1973, this is a standalone story that is loosely connected to the universe through a character from Annabelle.
- The Conjuring 2 (2016): The Warrens return in this film set in 1977, which focuses on the Enfield Poltergeist case in England and reintroduces the demon Valak.
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021): This movie takes place in 1981, following the Warrens as they investigate a murder case where the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense.
- The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025): The newest film in the series, which continues the story of the Warrens after the events of The Devil Made Me Do It.
Conclusion
The Conjuring: Last Rites is more than just another horror release—it marks the closing chapter of a universe that has terrified audiences for over a decade. From the cursed Annabelle doll to the demonic Nun, and from haunted homes to real-life courtroom drama, the franchise has expanded horror cinema into a connected world of stories that blend fact and folklore. With Ed and Lorraine Warren’s journey reaching its “final rites,” fans in India and across the globe are witnessing the end of an era. Whether you’re a longtime follower of the series or stepping into the universe for the first time, this film promises to deliver the chills, scares, and emotional depth that have made The Conjuring one of the most successful horror sagas in modern cinema.