The Conjuring 4's 'True' Ghost Story Was Already Made As '90s TV Movie

As far as true stories go, the "Conjuring" franchise has always played rather fast and loose with history. Ed and Lorraine Warren, the married demonologist couple played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, are based on actual people who really embarked on paranormal exorcisms — though the actions of the real Warrens, both of whom have since passed away, were perhaps a bit more controversial than the movies would have you think. Most (if not all) of the cases at the center of each "Conjuring" movie and spinoff are similarly taken from true accountings ... though, obviously, franchise architect James Wan and the filmmakers that have followed in his footsteps always spice things up for a worthy big screen experience. The horror property is now set to come to a close with the fourth mainline film, this year's "The Conjuring: Last Rites," but the plot of the upcoming sequel might be the most true-to-life one yet.

We actually haven't heard much about the fourth "Conjuring" since its initial announcement back in 2022, but a flood of new information was finally unleashed on us today. In a fresh cover story featuring several brand-new stills over at Entertainment Weekly, the "Last Rites" cast and crew opened up about what fans can expect from the fourth and final film in the immensely popular and successful horror franchise. As it so happens, director Michael Chaves (a familiar face after directing previous films like "The Curse of La Llorona," "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," and "The Nun II") and his creative team decided to focus on one particularly high-profile case involving a family haunting. It's an incident that took the U.S. by storm back in the 1970s and the decades that followed ... to the extent that it inspired a book in the 1980s and, believe it or not, a TV movie in 1991 starring the great Sally Kirkland.

Fans might be surprised to hear it, but "The Conjuring: Last Rites" won't be the first time we've seen this specific case of supernatural activity in a fictionalized adaptation. It's easy to understand why this case generated so much media attention at the time, however, as the unfortunate Smurl family moved into a duplex in Pennsylvania and found themselves experiencing all sorts of inexplicable phenomenon across 15 years. (Their claim that a demon was living in their home was noteworthy enough to earn an entire Wikipedia page to itself, in fact.) Naturally, they eventually recruited the Warrens for help, though not before taking their headline-making story and turning into talk show fodder, writing a published novel, and eventually making way for the 1991 movie "The Haunted." Actor Sally Kirkland earned a Golden Globe nomination for her lead performance as the matriarch of the Smurl family, but "Last Rites" should give this material the big screen treatment it deserves.

There's a reason why the decision-makers settled on this as the plot for the next "The Conjuring" film, after all. As longtime "The Conjuring" producer and current DC Studios co-boss Peter Safran told EW, "It is one of the more Googleable ones. It really fit the bill for us, being able to lean into something that audiences could go and Google after the movie. 'Oh! They really did have that many children.' 'Oh! They really were this age, and the grandparents really were there.' All of that stuff has always been meaningful to us." But despite the real-life buzz surrounding this tale (which has also inspired plenty of skeptics, to be fair), don't expect the movie to adhere strictly to what's purported to have happened. According to star Patrick Wilson:

"We've known about this one for a long time. Then writers are playing around with how it affects the family and what's going on in the family's life. That's where we can really theatricalize it. We're not making a documentary."

"Last Rites" will pick up five years after the ending of "The Devil Made Me Do It," with the Warrens retired from active field work. In addition to Wilson and Vera Farmiga, the movie will also star Mia Tomlinson as the couple's grown-up daughter Judy Warren. Expect the "Conjuring" grand finale to hit theaters September 5, 2025.