20 Best Opening Scenes From Recent Horror Movies
15. The Conjuring: Last Rites
The Conjuring: Last Rites was a bloated and ultimately underwhelming "finale" to the Warrens' story, but it did at least kick off with an effective flashback.
The story begins in 1964, as a young Ed (Orion Smith) and heavily pregnant Lorraine (Madison Lawlor) investigate a haunted antique mirror.
Lorraine ends up collapsing after looking at the mirror and going into labour, prompting Ed to frantically drive her to the hospital.
Lorraine gives birth but the baby appears to be stillborn, yet after Lorraine prays for their daughter to be revived, she is.
This is followed by a montage of their daughter, Judy, growing up, before we effortlessly transition from the young Warren actors to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, bringing us forward to 1986 where the rest of the story takes place.
This is a prologue that gets a lot right - it fills out the Warren's backstory in a meaningful way, and rather than rely on awkward digital de-aging for their younger selves uses actual young actors, with Orion Smith being a mind-boggling dead ringer for Patrick Wilson.