7 unanswered questions after watching ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’

Michael Chaves' The Conjuring: Last Rites is enjoying a good run at the box office and has already grossed over $200 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. This is not surprising as the Conjuring film series is one of the most popular horror franchises in the world. From its layered storylines to well-executed jump scares, these movies, including the latest one, have continued to enthrall fans of the genre.

In The Conjuring: Last Rites, Judy Warren, Ed and Lorraine's daughter, portrayed by Mia Tomlinson, learns about the Smurl family and how they have been terrorized by three entities. She convinces her parents to investigate the matter, but vanquishing the demon from the family's home turns out to be a difficult task.

Even though the narrative is compelling, the new film does leave a lot of loose ends, mentioned on this list, that viewers are still quite confused about.

Disclaimer: This list contains information from various sources and contains spoilers.

7 puzzling questions that come to mind after watching The Conjuring: Last Rites

1) What is the name of the mirror entity?

Ed and Lorraine come across the mirror long before it ends up with the Smurl family (Image via Official Facebook Page)

The antique mirror forms the core of the narrative in The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Smurl family experiences demonic activities after the well-meaning grandparents gift Kíla Lord Cassidy's Heather the mirror to celebrate her confirmation ceremony. Even though Heather and her sisters try to dispose of the mirror, they are unable to escape the nightmare-inducing entities.

Usually in the Conjuring movies, viewers get to know the names of the entities that are investigated by Ed and Lorraine. But in The Conjuring: Last Rites, the name of the "mirror demon" is never revealed. It is interesting to note that director Chaves also didn't reveal the actual name of the demon in the previous film, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, where it was simply referred to as "Arne’s Demon".

2) Is the antique store woman still alive?

The fate of the curio shop owner, who Ed and Lorraine met, is shrouded in mystery (Image via Facebook/TheConjuringUniverseUK)

At the start of The Conjuring: Last Rites, viewers see Ed and Lorraine, who is visibly pregnant, visit a curio shop to investigate a case connected to an antique mirror. When Lorraine touches the mirror, she sees a vision and goes into labor. It is later established that the same entity is the one who is causing trouble at the Smurl house.

However, there is no further mention of the curio shop or its owner. The Warrens do admit, later on, that they had abandoned the case, but the narrative doesn't clarify what happened at the shop after they left. Seeing as the owner had asked for help, the hauntings must have been escalating in nature, and it is unclear whether she managed to survive without the Warrens.

3) How did Father Gordon die?

Father Gordon had reached out to the Warrens but they had put their investigations on hold due to Ed's heart condition (Image via Warner Bros)

Steve Coulter plays Father Gordon in The Conjuring: Last Rites. He reaches out to the Warrens and asks them to help the Smurls, but when they are unwilling to investigate the matter, he ends up going to the Diocese of Scranton by himself. Soon enough, the demon finds a way to take Father Gordon out of the equation permanently.

What's strange about Father Gordon's death is that it doesn't involve any mirrors. It all begins with a phone call, and then viewers see Father Gordon committing suicide. The Conjuring: Last Rites doesn't really bother to explain how the demon has made it happen, and if the demon's powers expand to manipulation over the phone, it is unclear why the demon never used the useful power again.

4) Why did the mirror end up with the Smurl family?

It is mysterious that the mirror didn't make its way to the Warrens house in the first place (Image via Warner Bros)

In the movie, Lorraine claims that the antique mirror has been trying to find its way to Judy all this time. However, many of the plot progressions don't support this claim.

At first, the mirror left the curio shop and ended up at a garage sale, where it was picked up by the Smurl grandparents. When the Smurl girls realized that it was evil, they tried to throw it out, but it ended up back in their attic. This proved that the mirror can choose not to leave, so why did it leave the curio shop only to end up at the Smurl house if the end goal was the Warrens?

The Smurl family lived far away from the Warrens. This means that it was completely possible for the Warrens to never hear of the Smurl family if the latter hadn't gone public with their story. It is a real mystery why the mirror didn't choose to end up with a family who lived closer to the Warrens, as that would considerably increase the chances of targeting Judy.

5) What is the origin of the mirror?

The Conjuring: Last Rites didn't bother to explain the origin of the mirror (Image via Warner Bros)

The Conjuring franchise is different from other horror movies because it tends to present well-thought-out narratives that toe the line between reality and fantasy. And, it is a known fact that these movies thrive on interesting backstories, but The Conjuring: Last Rites doesn't quite fulfill that expectation because the audience never really learn of the origins of the "mirror demon".

With or without the origin story, The Conjuring: Last Rites is still a solid spooky watch, but long-term fans would agree that it certainly adds to the experience when they can understand why and how the evil entity took form and learn of its motivations. In the 2025 film, it is obvious that the "mirror demon" is a force to be reckoned with, but viewers aren't sure what it wants exactly.

6) Why did the demon leave Judy's body?

Mia Tomlinson's Judy Warren took center stage in the new movie (Image via Facebook/TheConjuringUniverseUK)

Promoted as the last film in the series, The Conjuring: Last Rites holds a lot of value because it is most likely the last time that viewers get to see Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play Ed and Lorraine on the big screen. However, it is interesting that the latest movie shifts the focus away from the duo and instead throws a light on their daughter, Judy.

In The Conjuring: Last Rites, Judy becomes possessed when she touches the mirror. The demon forces her to hang herself and almost dies. Somehow Ed and Ben Hardy's Tony Spera are able to bring her back to life. At this point, the demon simply leaves her body. Given that Judy was the prime target, it is strange that the demon didn't try to possess her a second time to get the job done.

7) Why didn't the demon put up more of a fight at the final showdown?

The finale of the movie was a bit of a letdown (Image via Facebook/TheConjuringUniverseUK)

The Conjuring movies deliver top-notch showdown scenes that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. And so, it is not surprising that viewers were expecting a big showdown at the end of The Conjuring: Last Rites as well. However, the fight that unfolds in the 2025 film seems quite tame, which is rather unfortunate. It's like the demon doesn't even try to put up a fight.

Throughout The Conjuring: Last Rites, fans see that the "mirror demon" is capable of many things, including restoring itself, possessing people, burning sacred items, levitating and more. The demon doesn't unleash its trusty spirits, who could have helped distract and confuse Ed and Lorraine.

Even though the setup is good, with plenty of tension, the "mirror demon" pales in comparison to the other, more powerful demons that fans have witnessed over the years within the Conjuring Universe.

The Conjuring: Last Rites boasts a spooky movie-watching experience, but it also leaves viewers with several puzzling unanswered questions.

About the author

Meeta is a popular culture writer at Sportskeeda who specializes in listicles. After graduating with English Honors, she began her professional journey in content with Engyne Systems and later joined Digicaptions as an English Editor. Meeta’s next career milestone was joining Eclectic Northeast, where she climbed the ranks from a Feature Writer to Assistant Editor. Her decade-long industry experience and personal interest in all things popular culture eventually helped her identify her expertise and led her to her current role at Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Meeta Borah