Based On A “True” Story

Let’s talk about “The Conjuring” Universe for a second, just in case the newly released “The Conjuring: Last Rites” truly is the last film in the franchise. “The Conjuring” Universe is the only successful interconnected series of movies, post-Marvel, that Hollywood has successfully managed to launch (RIP Universal’s Dark Universe).

Starting with 2013’s “The Conjuring,” we now have nine movies across several different franchises, including “The Conjuring” films proper, a trilogy featuring the evil doll “Annabelle,” a duology following the demonic “Nun” and the loosely connected “The Curse of La Llorona.”

Here’s where this franchise becomes problematic: the series is centered on paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, a real-life couple who dedicated their lives to ghosts, demons and anything supernatural. “The Conjuring” movies sell themselves as “based on true stories” of the case files of The Warrens. To say this is hotly debated is an understatement, as, if you ask most people, they think the Warrens are either dangerous hucksters, well-meaning charlatans, or some derivation thereof.

Additionally, most of the stories are highly embellished for film, which raises the question of how authentically fact-based a film needs to be to be labeled as “based on a true story.”

Here’s where I’m at with it: I don’t know enough about The Warrens to judge them as people and I found the first “Conjuring” film to be an absolute blast, so instead of putting out some think piece that I’m profoundly under-qualified to write, I instead stayed in my wheelhouse and watched all nine films in “The Conjuring” Universe so you don’t have to. I learned a few pretty interesting things while doing this, but I don’t recommend anyone else try this at home.

The entire franchise is deeply and unapologetically Catholic. It’s funny because it feels as if these movies were released by some small, independent distributor that exclusively made religious films, people would mock the films as sentimental hogwash.
Even the worst movie of the entire franchise (easily “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”) is ultimately still handsomely made and filled with solid performances and creepy imagery.
All the films repeat themselves over and over again with similar tracking shots, almost identical design of some of the demons and repetitive discussions about God, the Devil and faith.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are so comfortable and lived-in as The Warrens that spending time with these characters ultimately feels like a reunion with people we care about…even if their real-life counterparts were not as noble.
Every single film in the franchise is a period picture set between 1952 and 1986. That’s so impressive from a production standpoint to make nine period horror movies across 12 years.
Watching nine “Conjuring”-related movies over two days made my face and head hurt. There’s so much religious imagery that the whole series starts to feel like they owe a big debt of gratitude (and some financial remuneration) to “The Exorcist.”

Let’s look at the entire series really quickly:

“The Conjuring” (2013): A crackerjack haunted house movie that is packed from wall to creepy ass wall with playful direction from James Wan and a wonderful central performance from Farmiga and Wilson, along with the always incredible Lili Taylor. Still the best of the series.

Best Spooky: A game of hide and clap with a blindfolded Lili Taylor that’s lived in my head rent-free for over a decade.

“Annabelle” (2014): We see how the Warrens came to be in possession (heh) of the deeply evil doll, Annabelle. It’s not a great movie, but as a piece of schlock, it’s entertaining to laugh at with friends.

Best Spooky: A Manson-inspired home invasion that gave me nightmares for a week.

“The Conjuring 2” (2016): Almost as good as the original, this one follows The Warrens to another haunted house; this one in the UK. James Wan expands his arsenal as a filmmaker, using some truly groundbreaking tracking shots that would be heralded greatly if they weren’t in a horror movie.

Best Spooky: “MY HOUSE!”

“Annabelle: Creation” (2017): The most underrated film in the franchise shows the origin of the doll, but what really sets it apart from the rest is that it’s set at a remote farmhouse being used as an orphanage for young girls. The script makes you care about the girls deeply, so when demonic activity starts getting squirrelly, you’re genuinely concerned for their safety. Surprisingly moving.

Best Spooky: We see the outline of the eyes of a demon as their bones start shifting and cracking. It made my date at the time get up and leave the theater.

“The Nun” (2018): A novitiate, a priest and a hot farmer all take on a demon nun at a remote convent in Romania. Not a great script, but directed with an eye for gothic imagery that makes the entire film feel like a throwback to 1950s Hammer Horror.

Best Spooky: That Nun’s face makes me uncomfortable. Like every time she shows up.

“The Curse of La Lorona” (2019) The only connection to the series is Father Perez, who carries over from “Annabelle.” A decent ghost story based on Hispanic folklore, what really makes this work well is a wonderful performance from Linda Cardellini and the painstakingly accurate reproduction of 1970s Los Angeles.

Best Spooky: Some really creepy eggs.

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (2021): This one follows the Warrens as they try to prove a man’s innocence of murder since a demon possessed him at the time. Too much of a procedural, this feels like what a “Conjuring” TV show would be like.

Best Spooky: The initial murder is pretty nasty.

“The Nun II” (2023): Still visually appealing, but now we have the Novitiate (now a nun) and the farmer (now possessed by a demon) doing battle at a boarding school in France. It feels derivative, repetitive and it made me sleepy.

Best Spooky: That Nun. Her evil demon face scares me every time.

“The Conjuring: Last Rites” (2025): Directed with style by Michael Chaves, “Last Rites” doesn’t ever really manage scariness, but does serve as a nice denouement for the Warrens. This very much feels like the last time we will see Farmiga and Wilson in these roles and it works as a touching goodbye. The movie recycles several of the beats and images that came before without adding anything new to the mythos, so even as you enjoy watching Farmiga and Wilson, none of it is very compelling. At 135 minutes, it’s padded with enough family drama for three movies without sustaining the type of tension that this needed to be a successful “Conjuring” movie.

“The Conjuring” universe works best as a goofy throwback to the kinds of movies that scared us as kids. I mean, this is a series where, I kid you not, someone spits the blood of Christ into the face of a demon, another character gets scared by a box of creepy cereal, and praying hard enough, brings a stillborn child back to life. I don’t know if “fun” is the right word to describe these movies, but they’re definitely something.

I can see them still churning out movies in this universe, just without the Warrens, as there are many other hauntings to cover. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cast two attractive 20-somethings as the Young Warrens and launched a TV show about their early adventures. I’m such a mark that I would probably watch it.

Do I recommend watching all nine of these movies in a row? No. Do I regret it? Definitely. Did I have fun? Absolutely. I contain multitudes and so, apparently, do the Warrens.

The Conjuring: Last Rites trailer

The Conjuring: Last Rites

Dir. Michael Chaves

Grade: C

Now Playing at Regal Old Mill, Redmond Cinema, Madras Cinema 5

This article appears in the Source September 18, 2025.