The Conjuring: Last Rites true story revealed by James Wan to be “full circle moment” for the horror franchise

“It is the thing that sets us apart from most other kind of horror films out there, right?" franchise creator James Wan told RadioTimes.com ahead of the release of the latest – and final – entry in the main franchise, The Conjuring: Last Rites.

"We're still a Hollywood movie and so we do take liberties and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, we think it's very important that there are things that fans can kind of go into the movie and go, ‘Oh, that's real.’ And they can Google things and find out stuff, documentations that are freely online that you can see, that inspire what we did in the film."

The particular case the new film delves into concerns the Smurl family, who believed that their Pennsylvania home was haunted by a demon for about 15 years from the mid-70s to the late '80s. The Warrens were called into investigate the claims in 1986.

Wan explained there was one particular reason he wanted this case to be the final cinematic assignment for Ed and Lorraine.

"There was a TV movie in the early '90s called The Haunted, starring Sally Kirkland, that I just love," he said. "I love Sally in that movie. I love everyone in that movie. And it was the movie that introduced me to Ed and Lorraine Warren for the first time – so for me personally [it] kind of came full circle, right?

"I wanted to finish the franchise, finish this movie, finish the series with the movie that inspired me in the first place."

As for what kind of research goes into bringing these cases to the big screen with at least a degree of accuracy, Wan explained that he and his fellow creatives always talk to the families involved "to get into their mindset" and to "try and capture what it was like for them."

That was very much the case with this new film, with director Michael Chaves explaining how they worked with all four Smurl sisters.

"They helped us and worked with us through development, when we're writing the script all the way into production," he explained. "I mean, down to details of the house... even like the car, they have a van that on the front of it says Smurl-mobile. And it was just something that their dad did as this kind of family rally cry."

He added: "So, I mean, they were so great, and just kind of getting all these great little details. I think that that really adds to the whole experience. Fans love these movies because they're based on true stories, and I think that whenever you have those real bits, it just makes you believe in it all the more.

"And it also helps with the actors. I think actors love to to come into this world that really exists, and to know that we're recreating something that's real."

The Conjuring: Last Rites is released in UK cinemas on Friday 5th September 2025.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.