The Conjuring: Last Rites Director Shares What It's Really Like To Work With Patrick Wilson And Vera Farmiga [Exclusive]

Michael Chaves' "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is the fourth film expressly about the ghostly (and highly fictionalized) adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) and one of many movies in the expanded, interconnected "Conjuring" universe. As many horror fans now know, Ed and Lorraine Warren were real-life mediums and ghost hunters who spent decades traveling to supposedly haunted houses and shooing away the poltergeists therein. As on-screen chyrons tell us, the Warrens were the only non-Catholics that had been sanctioned by the Church to commit exorcisms. The real-life Warrens had complicated lives, fraught with scandals. In the movies, however, Wilson and Farmiga depict them as immensely appealing parent figures and charismatic squares who can exorcize demons just as readily as they can lead sing-alongs of "Kum Ba Yah."

There's no question that the "Conjuring" movies work as well as they do largely because of Wilson and Farmiga's performances. They really are horror's current mom and dad. "Last Rites," as the title implies, will likely be the final film to feature the Warrens, making it something of a grand finale. The farewell tour has been immensely successful, with the film having made almost $475 million at the box office against a $55 million budget.

/Film's own Jacob Hall got a chance to speak with Chaves, and he asked the director what it was like to work with actors as appealing as Wilson and Farmiga. Chaves, it should be noted, has now directed several "Conjuring" films, having initially worked with Wilson and Farmiga on 2021's "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It." The filmmaker explained that he created a safe place for his actors, allowing Wilson and Farmiga to continue to explore the onscreen chemistry that they had already spent years developing before he entered the picture.

Chaves admitted that it was easy to work with Wilson and Farmiga on "Last Rites," and not just because they had collaborated before. By that point, the actors had firmly established their dynamic as the Warrens, and it certainly helped that they are both directors as well. (Farmiga called the shots on the 2011 spiritual journey film "Higher Ground," while Wilson made his directorial debut with 2023's "Insidious: The Red Door.") With all that history, Chaves didn't have to work very hard to get his actors in character. He also liked that his two leads had a deep understanding of the greater filmmaking process and weren't only concerned with their performances. As he put it:

"I just create a safe space on set. I think that it's like, you know, they're so great, and they know their characters so well, and they're directors also, which is something that early in my career, I would get intimidated about. It's like, 'Oh, they know more than me!' But now, it's like those people who have directed movies, who are working in other capacities, whether they're actors or cinematographers or whatever it is, they actually bring so much more [...] They're so much more supportive of the whole process." 

So, when it came to actually directing them in "Last Rites," Chaves admitted he had very little to do, stating:

"[H]onestly, with them, I'm just like. [...] I just remind them of where we are in the story, and then I just let them go. They're so great, you know?" 

Both actors deserve more acclaim, and their steady, reliable, and appealing work in the "Conjuring" movies proves it. It's a pity to see them leave Ed and Lorraine Warren behind.