Tag: Ian Goldberg

The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) | REVIEW

Mia Tomlinson and Patrick Wilson in THE CONJURING: LAST RITES — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema (still image from trailers).

Directed by Michael Chaves — Screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.

We’ve come a long way since the first film about the demonologist duo and married couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring, from director James Wan. Depending on whether you count The Curse of La Llorona, there are now nine or ten films in the film series, with its reported conclusion, 2025’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, serving as the dot at the end of the sentence. Like with The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun 2, this latest film is directed by Michael Chaves, who, despite receiving mixed reviews for his films, has long been positioned as the heir apparent to James Wan (The Conjuring; Insidious; Saw). Chaves has failed in his attempts to reach the height of his mentor’s films, and, in the process of trying to continue Wan’s work in this connected universe of films, has turned in, at best, merely lukewarm films. Does the purported conclusion to the story of the Warrens improve things for Chaves? Well, his latest film still cannot hold a candle to Wan’s Conjuring films, but, to Chaves’ credit, I think this is his most entertaining film yet. 

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The Nun II (2023) | REVIEW

Taissa Farmiga standing in front of a mysteriously unguarded newsstand at night in THE NUN II — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Directed by Michael Chaves — Story by Akela Cooper (Hell Fest)– Screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and Akela Cooper.

Even though DC films have relentlessly tried to catch up to Marvel, the only cinematic universe that I think even comes close to being as much of a widely enjoyed success is that of The Conjuring. Since James Wan’s The Conjuring was first released to critical acclaim in 2013, two sequels and five spin-offs have been released. Although James Wan has moved on to different projects, the horror-centered cinematic universe is still chugging along. The Nun II is the ninth film in the series, and it has been directed by Michael Chaves, whose three feature films as a director all exist in this universe. As such, you could say that Chaves is the heir apparent to Wan. However, I should also say that I have not been entirely happy with his entries thus far. His debut The Curse of La Llorona was wholly forgettable and I was merely lukewarm on his The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Although The Nun II hasn’t completely turned things around for Chaves, in my opinion, I do think The Nun II is significantly better than the original The Nun spin-off.

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