The Warrens, The Conjuring, and Us: How to Enjoy the Scares Without Losing the Plot

With The Conjuring: Last Rites landing in theaters on September 4–5, 2025 (depending on market), the franchise is teeing up a curtain call for its demon-fighting power couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Producer James Wan says the goal this time isn’t just bigger scares—it’s emotional closure for the Warrens’ onscreen journey. Translation: expect heart with your hauntings. CinemablendIMDb

Here’s a quick guide for watching the new film with your head and heart switched on.

As investigators, the real-life Warrens don’t meet scientific standards; their most famous cases show major credibility problems.

• As cultural figures, they’ve clearly given audiences a ritual and a story-shaped way to metabolize fear—needs that movies satisfy safely.
• You can love the films and still keep your critical thinking intact.

The Movies vs. the Messy Reality

The franchise sells itself as “based on a true story,” but its truth is mythic truth—the kind that makes meaning, not lab results. Take Amityville: decades of reporting and skeptical reviews have shown large parts were manufactured for money and attention. The Warrens defended it anyway; most independent investigators did not. VoxWikipedia

Or Enfield, the basis for The Conjuring 2. The main investigators from the Society for Psychical Research (Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair) documented both odd events and fakery by the kids. The Warrens’ visit was brief; skeptics and magicians later pointed to evidence of tricks (and to how easily suggestion shapes perception). Great movie. Knotty record. Wikipedia

Bottom line: the historical Warrens were compelling storytellers and pastors to frightened people. That’s a role. It’s not science.

So…do the Warrens “matter”?

Yes—as cultural first-responders. They offered language, ritual, and a frame that told people, “You’re not crazy, and you’re not alone.” Even the Catholic Church’s modern exorcism rules (1999) acknowledge both the demand and the danger: before any rite, there must be careful medical and psychological screening. That’s about protecting people from misdiagnosis and harm. Los Angeles Times

In other words: meaning-making is real, and so are placebo/expectancy benefits. But so are the risks when you call trauma or sleep paralysis a demon.

Why we keep showing up for these films

• Safe transgression. Horror lets us flirt with the abyss in a controlled space.
• Ritualized fear. The movies give us a familiar liturgy—haunted object, escalating phenomena, final confrontation—that turns chaos into a story you can exit before the credits roll.
• The love story. Wan’s team built the series on Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s chemistry; that glue, not just Valak jump-scares, kept people coming back—and this finale is laser-focused on that closure. Cinemablend

How to watch Last Rites (and talk about it) like a grown-up

1. Separate vibe from verification. Enjoy the myth; don’t cite it as evidence. If a friend says “based on a true story,” nod—then remember Amityville and Enfield’s documented problems. VoxWikipedia
2. Honor the human need underneath. Fear needs containers. Films, clergy, therapists, and communities all provide them—ideally without overclaiming. Los Angeles Times
3. Keep compassion front and center. If someone reports “paranormal” distress, start with sleep health, trauma history, and medical screening. If they want spiritual care too, fine—both/and, not either/or. Los Angeles Times

If you’ve had something “weird” happen

• Rule out the usual suspects (sleep paralysis, meds, grief reactions).
• Journal the specifics (time, duration, triggers, physical sensations).
• Get a clinician’s read—then, if it fits your worldview, add a faith-based or ritual response that comforts you. The aim is relief and integration, not a forever war with a demon. Los Angeles Times

Final take

The Conjuring: Last Rites arrives as a grand goodbye to a decade-plus horror saga and to the screen version of the Warrens that millions love. Enjoy it as myth done well—a story that helps ordinary people hold fear, love, and mystery in the same frame—while staying honest about the historical record. That’s not being a buzzkill; that’s giving the film the respect it asks for: feel deeply, think clearly.