Is The Conjuring: Last Rites woke?
Movie · 2025
The Conjuring: Last Rites has a wokeness score of 3/10, which we rate as Light Social Awareness. Some light diversity or inclusion elements that feel natural and organic. Woke themes are subtle, non-intrusive, and fully integrated into the story without drawing attention to themselves.
Key points
- Main characters white; women lead organically via psychic roles in Warren/Smurl families.
- No political messaging; focus on faith, family, and traditional horror scares.
- Minor ethnic actor (Shannon Kook) in supporting role, feels natural not forced.
Wokeness analysis
The Conjuring: Last Rites maintains the franchise's traditional focus on supernatural horror, faith-driven exorcisms, and family bonds, with no overt political messaging, indoctrination, or social commentary. Reviews across sources like Common Sense Media, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Reddit consistently describe it as a sentimental send-off for Ed and Lorraine Warren, emphasizing scares, jump scares, and religious elements like Catholic rituals and prayers without any agenda-pushing. Common Sense Media notes main characters are white, with women leading in both Warren and Smurl families, but this feels organic to the story's structure—Lorraine's clairvoyance and daughter Judy's psychic role are established franchise traits, not forced empowerment narratives. Minor diversity appears via actor Shannon Kook (returning as the Warrens' assistant from prior films), but his presence is incidental, not highlighted or tied to identity politics. No mentions of LGBTQ representation, racial themes, or progressive ideologies in plot summaries, reviews, or cast discussions; criticisms target sentimentality, weaker scares, or Warren whitewashing, not wokeness. The film prioritizes escapism and entertainment, aligning with conservative-leaning religious horror that resonates against modern forced inclusivity trends. This light, natural integration places it firmly in mild modern sensibilities, avoiding the heavy-handed ideology of higher scores.
Plot
The Conjuring: Last Rites, the final mainline entry, follows paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) out of retirement for their last case: the 1986 Smurl family haunting in Pennsylvania. A haunted antique mirror unleashes demons on Jack (Elliot Cowan), Janet (Rebecca Calder) Smurl, and their daughters. Flashbacks reveal Judy's (Mia Tomlinson) stillborn birth revived by prayer. Now adult Judy, dating Tony (Ben Hardy), aids with her visions. Despite Ed's heart issues, the Warrens confront entities via exorcism, destroying the mirror with Saint Michael prayer. The Smurls recover; Judy marries Tony amid cameos. Emphasizing family love conquering evil, it blends scares with sentimentality in 135 minutes.
Analyzed by AI on April 24, 2026