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How The Conjuring: Last Rites closes its book — and what to watch for in the credits
The Conjuring: Last Rites arrives as an apparent closing chapter for the Warrens, but its finale doubles as both closure and a bittersweet celebration of the Conjuring franchise. The film centers on the Smurl family haunting and culminates with a physically and emotionally charged confrontation over the film’s most dangerous artifact: the “conjuring” mirror. Director and cast deliver familiar scares, but the last moments — including an archival-driven credit sequence and a final card — are where the movie offers its most resonant payoffs.
Is there a post-credits scene?
Yes — but not in the Marvel-style tease sense. Stay through the opening credits: the filmmakers splice together archival footage and case montages of Ed and Lorraine Warren, giving viewers a retrospective of the investigators’ career. There’s no after-credits stunt to set up a sequel, but the early credits function as a victory lap for the series. After these images, a final, quieter card reveals the mirror’s fate and then fades to black — a firm punctuation rather than an open cliffhanger.
Ending explained: mirror, possession, and sacrifice
The climax revolves around extracting the haunted mirror and securing it in the Warrens’ museum. Complications explode into full possession: Judy (Mia Tomlinson) becomes the conduit for the mirror’s demonic force, attacking Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and the Smurl children. Patrick Wilson’s Ed and new ally Tony (Ben Hardy) scramble to save the family, physically battling specters and the levitating mirror itself. The mirror lashes out, conjuring demonic doubles and nearly kills Tony before the team’s combined spiritual strength finally neutralizes it.
After the house is stabilized, the Smurl family stays together for several years. The Warrens deposit the mirror into their museum under lock and key; the film closes with a warm family wedding — complete with familiar faces from prior franchise entries — and intertitles that summarize the real-life Warrens’ later years, including Ed’s stroke and Lorraine’s lifelong devotion.
Cameos, crowd shots, and fan service
Last Rites sprinkles the closing wedding scene with cameos that reward long-term fans. Actors representing the Perron and Hodgson families, plus a character from The Devil Made Me Do It, appear in the crowd. Director James Wan even appears in the background — a subtle wink for genre insiders. These cameos function as celebratory fan service rather than plot devices, tying multiple Conjuring narratives into a single, bittersweet homecoming.
Context and comparisons: where this film sits in horror today
Narratively, Last Rites returns the franchise to a smaller, emotionally-driven haunting like the original Conjuring and The Conjuring II, favoring family trauma over jump-scare spectacle. Compared with other modern haunted-house franchises (Insidious, for example), Last Rites emphasizes archival mythology and the Warrens’ pastoral heroism. As horror trends shift toward anthology and elevated horror, Last Rites blends classic supernatural exorcism with modern franchise continuity.
"The film is more elegy than cliffhanger," says cinema historian Marko Jensen. "It stitches together franchise lore while giving the Warrens a human, reflective goodbye — a rare emotional payoff in a franchise built on scares."
Trivia and behind-the-scenes notes
- The mirror is explicitly called a “conjuring mirror” in franchise lore, and its prop design echoes antique mirrors used in earlier Conjuring films to create a visual lineage.
- The archival footage in the credits includes real-life press clips and staged recreations, blending documentary texture with cinematic mythmaking.
- Fans praised the movie’s emotional center — especially the wedding sequence — while some critics argued the film reuses familiar beats from earlier entries.
Conclusion: closure that still leaves room for folklore
The Conjuring: Last Rites wraps the Warrens’ story with a mixture of spectacle and tenderness. It delivers a clear ending for the mirror and offers a commemorative credit sequence that honors the franchise’s scope. Whether this is truly the last Conjuring film remains debatable — the universe’s other iconic artifacts (Annabelle, The Nun) still have life — but Last Rites succeeds as a farewell that respects its characters and its fans. For viewers seeking both explanation and emotional release, the film provides both: a tidy ending for the case and a cinematic nod to the enduring power of ghost stories in modern horror.
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