Interviews
How ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Director Michael Chaves Stayed True to the Real-Life Smurl Haunting [Interview]
The Nun II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It filmmaker Michael Chaves is back in the director’s seat to close out the main Conjuring franchise as we know it with the final chapter, The Conjuring: Last Rites.
Last Rites, releasing in theaters on September 5, 2025, draws inspiration from the real-life Smurl Family Haunting for a case that sees Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga making their final bow as paranormal investigating couple Ed and Lorraine Warren. Considering they’ll be joined by Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy, who portray Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy Warren and her boyfriend, Tony Spera, it’s safe to say that this particular haunting gets very personal for the Warrens.
The haunting is also one of the most sensationalized and well-known of the Warrens’ real-life case files. That it’s so well documented, including a 1991 made-for-TV movie, makes it trickier when it comes to keeping audiences on their toes and crafting nightmarish surprises.
When approaching the horror of The Conjuring: Last Rites and the haunting itself, Michael Chaves turned to a primary source on the final chapter’s central case.
(L-R): TILLY WALKER as Carin Smurl, KILA LORD CASSIDY as Heather Smurl, MOLLY CARTWRIGHT as Shannon Smurl, ELLIOT COWAN as Jack Smurl, BEAU GADSON as Dawn Smurl, and REBECCA CALDER as Janet Smurl in New Line Cinema’s “CONJURING: LAST RITES,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
“With the Smurl case, we actually worked with the Smurl sisters,” Chaves tells Bloody Disgusting. “They came on early on as we were developing the script, into pre-production, then through production. There was a movie called The Haunted, which was based on a book, and it’s funny because that was actually James Wan’s introduction to the Warrens. It was the first time that he learned about the Warrens, and that was actually a movie that [the Smurls] really didn’t like.”
Chaves continues, “They had a lot of issues with it, and I was like, ‘What can I do in telling your story?’ And they said, ‘Don’t make that movie again.’ Not to comment on the filmmaking or any of that, I think that they just didn’t feel like it was true to their story. They don’t feel like it really listened to what they experienced, and that was the big thing with this. In every way possible, we really tried to ground it in their experience and based on things that they had gone through. That really fueled so much of the story.”
One notable difference from the Smurl haunting, however, is the inclusion of an antique mirror tied to the Warrens.
Chaves wants audiences to take note: “This is the Smurl case, but there’s also the mirror. It was not in the Smurl house. That is another case of theirs. That mirror is real. It exists. If you stay to the very end, there’s something there. Obviously, we had to weave that in and then weave in the Warren story. So, it was a kind of juggling act of all those things.”
VERA FARMIGA as Lorraine Warren in New Line Cinema’s “THE CONJURING: LAST RITES,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Beyond honoring the accuracy of the Smurls’ experience, Chaves had the unenviable task of finding new ways to scare audiences for the fourth main installment of the series. The filmmaker looked to the previous films and found a commonality that helped with Last Rites’ scare-crafting.
Chaves explains, “It’s tricky. It’s always a trick. It’s funny because the Conjuring movies also have a certain language and a certain style. I think that there is something in the scares that is very playful, by its nature. And I think that almost the thesis of the DNA of the movie goes back to, honestly, the Clap game. As with everything in the series, it is rooted in that sense of play and that these entities and these darker forces are trying to lure us in with games, and they’re luring us in with toys, like Annabelle being a doll. When you’re doing the scares, I think you’re always trying to push the boundaries a little bit. There’s obviously a lot more blood in this movie than there was in previous Conjuring movies.”
The filmmaker also found scare inspiration from the period itself; Last Rites is set in 1986, just five years after The Devil Made Me Do It.
“So much of the first film is rooted in the horror movies of the ’70s, and in The Changeling and The Exorcist,” Chaves notes. “Obviously, we wanted to return to that and keep that DNA, but I also wanted a little bit of the flavor of the ’80s. We actually shot on C-Series Anamorphic lenses, these great vintage lenses that they used on Poltergeist and on Alien. And so, it kind of had a little bit of the texture of the ’80s. I think also even just the bloody sink, a little bit of a nod to The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street, and that language. These movies are always referencing other horror movies and horror movies of the period that they live in. So, I think that was always the basis for how we built these scares.“
VERA FARMIGA as Lorraine Warren and PATRICK WILSON as Ed Warren in New Line Cinema’s “THE CONJURING: LAST RITES,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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