With The Conjuring: Last Rites, Michael Chaves will officially be the director who has helmed the most films within The Conjuring Universe. Coming on to the franchise with 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and taking on the second installment of The Nun, Chaves has officially put his stamp on the horror universe James Wan built. Now once more, he’s teaming up with Wan to bring the legendary horror universe to an end with The Conjuring: Last Rites.
Recently we had the opportunity to speak with Chaves at a roundtable discussion with other members of the press on the conclusion of The Conjuring Universe. The pressure was on for him to stick the landing with this movie. However with Wan as producer, and the talents of stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, Chaves was able to make this installment one of the most emotional in the franchise’s history.
The Nerds of Color was able to ask Chaves about that pressure, and about what it was like to say goodbye to the series.
“I mean, obviously, a lot of pressure,” he stated. “This is a series I love so much. And the fans love it so much. I think that the biggest thing with it is, ultimately this is a journey we’ve been on with the Warrens, and with Ed and Lorraine. And looking at it as a family story, and trying to tell a final chapter to their family story. So much of the experience of the movie [was us] saying goodbye. We’re saying goodbye to Ed, Lorraine, to Patrick and Vera. We’re saying goodbye to this incredible series that we’ve been a part of for like, 12 years. And I was there with all of you guys when I saw that first one. And just fell in love with this series, and fell in love with those characters and the world. And so it is hard to say goodbye. And I think that’s always hard when you’re kind of coming to these final chapter movies. And I think that’s really why we leaned into the story of of our relationship with… parents and children, and just [Ed and Lorraine’s] relationship with Judy as they’re saying goodbye to their to their daughter and giving her away. It felt like a great metaphor. It felt like a great parallel that they’re having. They’re going on this journey saying goodbye to her. We’re going on a journey of saying goodbye to the Warrens. And it just felt like that was the throughline we leaned into.”
The Warren Family story is the beating heart of The Conjuring Universe. This is precisely what Chaves meant by us watching Ed and Lorraine give their daughter away. With the introduction of Mia Tomlinson’s adult version of Judy Warren and Ben Hardy playing her fiancee Tony, it felt apt that the series should close with Judy coming into her own marriage.
When asked by Dorkaholics about Tomlinson and Hardy’s introduction to the series, Chaves stated, “Those actors are so amazing. I think those characters were such great opportunities, and I think with both of them, it was such a great opportunity for us to see the world of the Warrens through a different lens. With Judy, we’re seeing it in the perspective of what it’s like to be the daughter of the heroes? … what’s it like to kind of grow up where you have demons coming in and out of the house and these deep demonic entities and all this stuff. What baggage does that give someone? And then what is the price that you have to pay later on? So that felt like a great opportunity with that character. Mia did a great job with her incredible vulnerability and nuance.
With Ben, I thought Tony was such a great way of just bringing in a fresh pair of eyes. And I think that one of the things with any series, when you’re around this long, is it’s dangerous to get too inside baseball. It’s dangerous to get to a place where you’re like, we’re so deep in the weeds that you don’t have anyone who can give you a fresh perspective. And Tony was a blessing and a gift. To be able to have someone who comes in and says, ‘Why do you have a room filled with demonic antiques? Is that normal? What’s going on with that?’ And to be able to kind of get reintroduced into these things that fans have kind of accepted as being normal. But a lot of times… [at test screenings] we showed it to a lot of people, and I think that there’s actually people who have never seen a Conjuring movie. I know it sounds impossible, but like we had them come in, and it was amazing, because… I think Tony was the one that had kind of guided them through, and it kind of helped them understand the movie. They were great. And, you know, those actors are just awesome. I think they’re incredible additions to that world. And they really held their own against Patrick and Vera.”
Indeed, in between the scares, characters like Ed, Lorraine, Judy, and Ben get moments to shine and Chaves allows for the family dynamic to persist through the darkness. Last Rites does feature tense jump scares, as any Conjuring film should be expected to do. However, there was a surprising amount of character-driven family drama included in this installment. When asked by the publication Daily Dead about the quieter, character-driven moments in the film, Chaves replied, “We actually had some people in the the our test screenings who said [their] favorite scene was Ed’s birthday party. And that’s really great. It’s so funny because we were a little nervous going into our first screening… And I think that what was so great about [these films] is people love these characters. They love spending time with them. And the investment that you make with the characters, the more time you spend with these people, the more you get scared later on, because you’ve made an emotional investment. And even just the investment of time that actually does contribute to the impact in scares later on. And so I was expecting that we were gonna have to cut [those scenes] or cut away… I’m really glad that it worked as well as it did, because it actually is a big chunk of the movie, and I think it’s a tribute to the actors. Honestly, everyone in there is so watchable that you could just kind of keep on, you know, watching them.”
Concluding this journey was a difficult challenge for Chaves who loves this franchise greatly. However with new characters, there was always the potential for more spin-offs. So when asked by “We Love Entertainment” about whether or not that would be the case, Chaves stated, “I love this series. If I could I would keep on making Conjuring movies. They had to pull me away from it. I’m so glad I’m not the one who made the decision that this would be the last one, because if it was up to me, I would just keep on making Conjuring movies until the day I died. This really was designed to be a final chapter. And I think in terms of spin offs, or all of that stuff, I think that the door is open. But this was something that that James, Peter, and the studio really had the incredible confidence and wherewithal to say, ‘We’re going to tell a final chapter. We’re going to bring it to a close while on our own terms.’ And I am so glad that [they] made that decision, because…I would have kept on just dragging [Farmiga and Wilson] around until they were in their 90s.”
Much like Chaves, the fans of The Conjuring Universe have fallen in love with The Warrens. Every chapter where the stakes are raised and the dangers get more terrifying has kept us on the edge of our seats, rooting for our favorite demonologists to vanquish evil once and for all. However, all good (and terrifying) things must come to an end. And if The Conjuring Universe is going to come to an end, at least it’s doing so in the hands of a fan, just like us.
The Conjuring: Last Rites hits theaters this Friday! And be sure to check out our coverage of the roundtable conversations with Farmiga, Wilson, Tomlinson, and Hardy, as well as producer and franchise mastermind, Wan, here on The Nerds of Color!
