The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie Review

One Wan Makes a Rite.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 21, 2025

Director Michael Chaves has amassed an awful filmography since 2019, consistently underwhelming horror fans with The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II... so when I say that his latest film The Conjuring: Last Rites isn't terrible, that's pretty high praise indeed. Presented as a honest-to-goodness underlined coda for franchise mainstays Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, naturally), it's a torch-passing family affair that just barely gets by thanks to nostalgia, solid performances, and a few genuinely good scares. It still ain't that much of a movie, but at least can be seen as a semi-return to form after the previous outing.

More than a little overlong at 135 minutes, Last Rites has trouble with pacing in the first half as it opens with separate prologues and rotates between these two main stories that mercifully converge around the one-hour mark. It leads off with an origin for Ed and Lorraine's daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson), who's initially stillborn during a power outage right after Mom and Dad investigate a haunted antique mirror. Despite being pronounced dead for over a minute, little Judy is miraculously revived after fervent prayers by her devastated parents. During a speed run through childhood, it's clear that Judy has inherited her mother's "abilities" and this puts a horrific amount of stress on the poor girl, leaving her a nervous wreck who talks herself out of visions by reciting a nursery rhyme that you'll likely memorize yourself since it's repeated at least two dozen times. Despite this trauma, Judy grows into a well-adjusted young woman with a caring boyfriend in Tony (Ben Hardy), whose biggest challenge seems to be winning over her intimidating dad.

The second story involves the Smurl family of West Pittston, PA, who end up purchasing a very familiar antique mirror to celebrate the confirmation of their second oldest daughter Heather (Kíla Lord Cassidy); together with parents Janet and Jack (Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan), oldest daughter Dawn (Beau Gadsdon), young twins Shannon and Carin (Molly Cartwright and Tilly Walker), and their live-in grandparents (Peter Wight and Kate Fahy), the crowded Catholic family (ah, but I repeat myself) somehow squeezes into a house that's too small and way too haunted to be considered optimal living conditions. The latter problem arrives with the mirror, of course, an intensely creepy artifact that Heather immediately dislikes and, together with Dawn, discreetly disposes of on trash day. But, as we all know from the loose and convenient rules of supernatural horror, actually destroying a demonic object is easier said than done.

These separate tales eventually join together when the Warrens -- all three of 'em, plus Tony -- finally arrive in West Pittston after an inordinate number of creepy (and occasionally really violent) encounters whittle the poor Smurls into submission. Like Father Damien Karras, they descend on the crowded house and eventually pledge to rid it of all evil, a process that again is easier said than done. Keep in mind that this case occurs after the Warrens' planned retirement: they're quite simply getting too old for this shit (aren't we all?) and Ed's nursing an earlier heart attack that has him eating egg whites, which means each and every run-in with these unknown entities might lead to a second.

Last Rites mostly plays it safe. This is the safest move for a franchise that struggled to connect with audiences since The Devil Made Me Do It deflated viewer confidence after the first two good to great entries. It unfortunately doubles down on the whole "true story" schtick but at least injects the unintentionally hilarious story with good old-fashioned genuine dread, decently high stakes, and a bit of human emotion along the way. Everything clearly points to a "next gen" path for the franchise in two or more years, one that heralds Judy and Tony as its new stars while Ed and Lorraine consult from the sidelines... or jump in for another round, if someone really needs a paycheck. But even taken on its own terms, Last Rites earns its keep and will please (or at least entertain) those who have come this far.

Released back in September to mixed reviews but reliably strong ticket sales, Last Rites actually stands as the highest-grossing film in the series and continues Warner Bros.' surprisingly strong theatrical year. True to form for the studio, it now arrives on home video (as The Conjuring 4) in separate 4K and Blu-ray editions as well as an obligatory Steelbook combo pack, all of which include solid A/V presentations but a rather weak trio of bonus features.

The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As usual, please see my recent review of the 4K edition for an overview of the film's visual aesthetic and base-level qualities, which unsurprisingly don't veer off course for the franchise with a mostly dim and desaturated image that emphasizes shadow detail and deep blacks over vivid colors. While this downscaled 1080p/SDR transfer doesn't have the increased resolution or HDR10/Dolby Vision capabilities of its UHD counterpart, it nonetheless holds up well in all expected areas and should look quite good on small to medium-sized displays with respectable image detail and good contrast. Neither falls victims to glaring compression artifacts on this dual-layered disc; although sporadic amounts of macro blocking could be found lurking in the deepest shadows, these are resoundingly kept to a minimum and may not be all that visible in motion. As seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots, it's a very capable presentation overall and largely impresses within format boundaries, so buy with confidence if you're not equipped for 4K yet.

Please also note that Last Rites uses a shifting aspect ratio, changing from 2.39:1 to a taller 1.78:1 during two scenes that last just over 8 minutes total; this is done to mimic the 1.90:1 format used for IMAX presentations.

The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos mix again serves up a dutifully designed sonic experience that stays well within franchise and genre boundaries, serving up clean and crisp dialogue while reaching into the sides and surrounds to support jump scares and other atmospheric moments. The height channels are mostly reserved but nonetheless add an amount of appreciated emphasis to organic immersion as well as the original score by composer Benjamin Wallfisch, who turns in reliably good work here. Those unequipped for Atmos will still heartily enough the downmixed Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix in its place, one that again digs deep to deliver more than a few well-placed thrills and chills along the way. Overall, it's solid work that gets the job done while not sounding overcooked in the process, which isn't always the case with horror films.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are including during the film and all extras listed below.

The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with awkwardly Photoshopped cast-themed cover artwork; a Digital Copy redemption code is also included, as are a few surface-level extras.

• Last Rites: An Era Ends (8:45) - This fluffy featurette, which focuses mostly on Last Rites but obviously touches upon earlier installments as well, includes brief comments from key cast and crew members including Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, producer/co-writer James Wan, director Michael Chaves, and others.

• The Conjuring: Crafting Scenes (8:42) - Very similar to the previous featurette in terms of content and participants, this short piece takes a quite look at the film and franchise's visual approach to horror.

• Michael Chaves: Believer (7:05) - Another like-minded featurette, this short and self-serving piece speaks about Chaves' contributions to the franchise and horror genre, and of course includes a few obligatory claims about the authenticity of paranormal events via hearsay and second-hand claims. Yawn.

The Conjuring 4: Last Rites Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Director Michael Chaves partially redeems himself with The Conjuring: Last Rites (with or without the added "4"), a surprisingly not-terrible franchise entry that also shares co-writers with 2021's woefully underwhelming The Devil Made Me Do It. It's mostly aided by a bit of nostalgia and a forward-thinking story that emphasis closure and a passing of the torch... which doesn't fully make up for its clichés, speed bumps, and other shortcomings, but it certainly helps a little. Simply put, those who have gotten this far will likely enjoy themselves, and Warner Bros.' separate home video options serve up proportionately strong A/V presentations but only a handful of weak bonus features.