WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Conjuring: Last Rites.Not every film will answer all the questions it raises, but The Conjuring: Last Rites has left many unanswered. Based on a true story, the new movie shows Ed, Lorraine, and Judy Warren investigating the Smurl family haunting in 1986. By the end of The Conjuring: Last Rites, the movie gives some concrete answers about what becomes of the Warren family afterward in real life.

Nevertheless, Last Rites fails to answer some big questions about its story, particularly about the mysterious demonic villain haunting the Warrens and the Smurls. It is especially glaring that the film didn’t answer such questions, as it’s supposed to be the finale of the main Conjuring movie franchise.

Since Last Rites is a horror movie, it can sometimes function best by keeping things ambiguous, leaving the terror to the audience’s imagination. Despite this, Last Rites could’ve spent more time elaborating on some of its multiple, frightening mysteries to serve as a clearer, more concrete conclusion to the Warrens’ story.

Who Is The Demon?

While some of the core demons in The Conjuring Universe, including Valak and Malthus, have had their names revealed, the mirror demon’s idenтιтy is unknown in The Conjuring: Last Rites. The demon’s true form is hardly even seen in the film, as it is often shown lurking in the shadows, hidden from view. Instead, the demon usually takes the form of other ghosts or Judy herself.

It is also unknown how the demon became bound to the cursed mirror before the story began. It is ᴀssumed that, like Malthus with the Annabelle doll, the demon chose the mirror to serve as its vessel so it could remain in the human world and act through it. It is possible that the mirror’s creator gave the demon permission to inhabit it, as it is supposed to be a “conjuring mirror.”

Why Did The Demon Want Judy?

It isn’t explicitly stated why the mirror demon wanted to possess and kill Judy. It first targeted Judy when it forced a young Lorraine to give birth to her in the beginning, causing the former to be stillborn. Since Judy was then revived and went on to live a long, happy life, the demon likely wanted to finish what it started so many years ago in Last Rites.

The demon could’ve been targeting Judy in order to spread death and despair so it could prove that no one could escape its wrath. However, since the church was hoping to send the Warrens to investigate the Smurl case, the demon may have tormented Judy to discourage her or her parents from visiting the Smurls.

The demon had over 20 years to go after Judy again. It seems like she wasn’t its only goal. It was likely trying to hide from the Warrens after their first encounter, knowing they could defeat it, and had chosen to use their daughter against them so it could continue to haunt the Smurls undeterred.

Why Didn’t The Warrens Need The Demon’s Name To Defeat It?

It has been established in The Conjuring Universe that someone needs to know the name of a demon in order to exorcise it and send it back to Hell. This was shown in The Conjuring 2 when Lorraine learned Valak’s name and used it in her prayer to defeat him. However, in The Conjuring: Last Rites, the Warrens never learn the name of the mirror demon.

Yet somehow, the Warrens were able to expel the demon from the mirror with their prayers at the end of Last Rites. This could have simply been a plot hole in the movie, but the demon also simply could’ve become too weak to fight. The fact that the mirror’s glᴀss shattered implies that it lost its strength during the film’s climax and that it still lingers in the human world.

What Happened To The Ghosts?

Similar to Valak in The Conjuring 2, the mirror demon takes control of a trio of spirits: a man, his wife, and his mother. Lorraine reveals that these ghosts were once a family of farmers who lived on the Smurls’ land, with the man killing his wife and mother after he discovered his wife’s affair.

The demon uses these spirits in order to hide itself from its targets in Last Rites. However, it is unknown what became of the three spirits after the Warrens vanquished the mirror demon. The Conjuring films don’t actually show what becomes of the spirits that their main villains have manipulated.

It is possible the spirits in Last Rites were expelled with the mirror demon by the Warrens. However, it is also likely that these ghosts will continue to linger on the Smurls’ land without interfering with their lives. Since they weren’t tormenting the Smurls before the latter bought the cursed mirror, it seems that they would rather leave this family alone.

What Happened To The Demon After Judy Was Born?

The Conjuring: Last Rites begins with a young Ed and Lorraine encountering the cursed mirror in one of their early cases. After the demon forced Lorraine to give birth, she and Ed rushed to the hospital, and the woman who owned the mirror at the time wasn’t heard from again.

Little is known about what the demon did after Judy was born. It is likely that the demon possessed the woman who owned the mirror and made her take her own life by hanging, as that seems to be its modus operandi.

After that, it is also probable that the mirror has been pᴀssed around to various people over the years following the woman’s death, with the demon possibly tormenting and killing its owners. The mirror’s owner before the Smurls had probably experienced the demon’s wrath firsthand and was trying to pᴀss the curse on to someone else.

How Did The Infant Judy Survive In The Beginning?

Judy was said to have been ᴅᴇᴀᴅ for a minute after Lorraine had given birth at the start of the film. The fact that she is alive and in good health in the present day is nothing short of a miracle. It is unknown how or why the infant Judy survived the mirror demon’s attack in Last Rites.

Given Lorraine’s ability to speak to spirits and that she was begging God to bring her daughter back to life, it is implied that Lorraine’s prayers were answered by a higher power. Judy could have been revived by God or one of his angels, giving the Warrens even greater support in their epic war against the evil demon.

Did Annabelle Really Attack Judy Near The End?

The possessed doll Annabelle has been a recurring terror in Judy’s life in the Conjuring franchise. Judy even had a vision of it sitting in a rocking chair early in Last Rites, showing that it can still haunt her from inside its glᴀss case. However, the sinister doll later appears at the Smurls’ house, transforming into a giant version of itself and attacking Judy.

It is unclear if Annabelle was actually there or if it was an illusion created by the mirror demon to scare Judy. Annabelle has been known to collaborate with other villains in The Conjuring Universe, most notably with the witch Bathsheba in the first film.

However, it seems unlikely that the doll would appear so far away from the Warrens’ house while it was trapped in its glᴀss case. Chances are that the mirror demon exploited Judy’s longtime fear of the doll by taking its form in order to frighten her. This is a solid theory, but still one that could’ve benefited from additional exploration within The Conjuring: Last Rites.