by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
I’ve never cared much for the horror genre as a way to experience a story. I don’t enjoy being scared, and find it difficult to be scared by things I know aren’t real. So while I was aware of the The Conjuring franchise, it wasn’t something I ever gave much thought to checking out, as it looked, from all the posters and clips I saw, like the generic haunted house jump scare stuff we have all seen many times before. But with the upcoming release of the final movie in the series, I figured this would be a good time to give these movies a chance and see if they add a bit of nuance to slowly building tension and being scared by small things.
Some spoilers ahead!
The Conjuring (2013)
The first installment in the franchise takes a lot of inspiration from horrors like Paranormal Activity that thrive on atmosphere and fear of the unknown, with the real feeling of terror coming from what you don’t see. While The Conjuring is undeniably horror, it has some strong notes of a mystery story and family drama. Patrick Wilson helps to sell the more serious moments with a very authoritative performance. The slow burn element is also a significant factor in making the tension of this experience work, as the story starts without much in the way of genuine scares, just a few slightly odd or creepy moments where things don’t seem quite right. Then in the third act, the wheels come off, and the whole story lets rip with weird imagery and freakish occurrences. The premise sounds like every haunted house story you have ever heard, but director James Wan keeps you engaged with the tone and style. The subtle use of music and cuts at just the right time make for many shocking moments that you sometimes expect, but never in quite the way they happen. He also does a great job recreating the period of the early ‘70s, when this story is set, which helps everything here look on the surface like a horror film from the time. I’ll also credit it for not sequel-baiting at the end, while still getting one, proving that all you need to get a sequel is to make a good story.
Rating: Liked It
Annabelle (2014)
Taking place before the events of the original, this story follows a similar format to its predecessor in terms of tone and scares. Unfortunately, that’s all it does: The entire story has way too much of the same feel as the first one, and not on nearly as big a scale, or with anything like the same kind of stakes. There is an interesting opening that does a decent job of setting up the premise in a way that draws you in and gives you a good understanding of what is going on (better than the original, even). However, with it being a prequel, I was hoping for some world building to add to the lore that was the setup for everything in the original, but there is nothing like that here. Instead, aside from a surprisingly violent opening to set the plot in motion, they essentially give us the same story with characters that are not as interesting. Even the scares have the same feel as the original, with the tension coming from what isn’t seen. We were told this story in the original, coupled with the fact that it’s all the same beats and plot twists, which means everything is unbelievably predictable. I still appreciate the creepy imagery of the doll, combined with the fact that you never properly see it move, but I had hoped that the main characters, this time being a young couple having a baby, might have been utilized to provide some different interactions. Still, it’s uncanny how much the entire experience is a rehash of the original.
Rating: Didn’t Like It
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Like its predecessor, this sequel borrows many existing horror tropes, but it showcases them in a genuinely scary way that keeps you guessing what the next scare will be. I was relieved that there aren’t nearly as many jump scares this time, and the story quickly gets into the real meaty moments of the scary atmosphere. Many of the scares in this one center around children’s toys, with one of the early ones coming from a toy fire engine that appears to have a mind of its own. This makes it feel slightly less like a rehash, and gives a window into the fear you feel as a child that something might be in the house at night. The narrative around the scary sequences is a little deeper this time, with some team members investigating the haunting being convinced it is a hoax. It also takes place in Enfield, London, making for a different tone and feel to the experience. The story follows the same basic template as the original, but does it differently enough that it’s all still compelling. While it might be a hair too long, the plot never gets too bogged down in over-explaining anything, and it’s all easy to follow. The effects are also ramped up a bit more for the sequel, as this time, a lot more scares come from things you do see. There is one effect that looks way too silly to be scary, and it reminded me of something out of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but otherwise, the effects are decent enough. It’s all over the top and may come across as silly to some, but I admit I was genuinely scared during most of this.
Rating: Liked It
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
This is really what the first Annabelle should have been. This prequel gives us the world building that was severely lacking before, explaining the origin of the demon that possessed the doll, showing the living person, a young girl nicknamed Bee (Samara Lee), that she initially was, and how she came to be in a state of wanting to possess the doll. There is a slightly less intense atmosphere, and the scares come from the fear of not seeing or hearing anything. Another clever theme is set up in the opening scene when Bee is still alive, showing she likes to leave notes for her parents; she continues to do this as a demon. It’s a compelling and creepy way to show her internal thoughts without dialogue. Unfortunately, the scares rely heavily on over-the-top musical score, the sound of rapid knocking or banging, and endless screaming from the young girls. I don’t mind these horror elements, but they are used so excessively here that they irritate me. It’s also apparent from how much it’s used that the filmmakers think the song “You Are My Sunshine” sounds creepy, and I’m sorry, but it doesn’t. Compared to the first Annabelle, this experience is much more of a well-woven story about the haunted people and the demon possessing the doll. There is a far superior feeling that these are real people with a story of their own, rather than being empty vessels to be subjected to scares. It’s a massive improvement on the first film, which it also nicely leads into at the end, but let’s face it, that’s not saying much.
Rating: High side of It Was Just Okay
The Nun (2018)
This is another spinoff that takes place before the events of the preceding films, another set of jump scares, disturbing imaginary, and forgettable characters. Like many of the other entries, it starts promisingly enough with a group of three characters investigating an abbey where another nun had hanged herself, and the setting of Romania makes for engaging visuals. But it’s not long before the film descends into the same beats of creepy atmosphere, characters panicking, and sudden noises to make you jump out of your seat. These types of scares are not even all that creative or original. Who thought that eight years after the film Buried, a single scene of a character being buried alive would be scary? Do you believe a demonic figure standing in a dark hallway is still frightening? How about a rapid chase accompanied by a loud score to bump up the intensity? Well, these filmmakers felt they still worked, because that’s what they go with yet again. The other disappointing thing is that nothing in this film helps you better understand the events in any of the other films. Up to this point, I was willing to forgive the somewhat genetic feel of the scares in the franchise because of how they were done, which was creative and genuinely disturbing; the scares here are neither. You are left with a highly bland and formulaic horror film without anything to legitimately scare or an original idea to dig your teeth into. I’m also getting tired of seeing the inverted cross everywhere.
Rating: Didn’t Like It
The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
There isn’t much to say about this; it’s all the same stuff that has worked from the previous films: creepy atmosphere, good effects, lots of jump scares, but all done in precisely the same way as before. There is a nice inside joke with a reference to Scooby-Doo, because Linda Cardellini is in this and also played Velma in the 2002 live action Scooby-Doo film. But outside of that moment, there is nothing original — it’s the same narrative of a family haunted by a demon and what they did to escape it. How often do they think they can scare us with the same close-up of the demon’s face? On top of that, the characters in this aren’t as interesting, and are way dumber than any of the other films. So these are not only the same beats as the previous films, but also an inferior version.
Rating: Low Side of Didn’t Like It
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Unlike the first two Annabelle installments, this film takes place after the events of The Conjuring. The two investigators who are the main characters of the original film make brief cameos, before the story turns its attention to their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace) and the two teenage girls babysitting her. The scares are all the same. Characters wander through a dark house and are startled by inanimate objects moving on their own or sudden loud noises. Not only is this starting to get very taxing and predictable, but how is it meant to be scary if you’ve seen it before? On the plus side is one creative scare with a board game. It is also refreshing to see teenage characters in a horror film not get brutally murdered for once. On top of that, the story and characters are something you can at least care about for half a second. The movie tries to give each of the three main characters arcs, and they are all resolved in an epilogue scene at the end. One of the girls is hoping a certain guy will ask her out, and the other is mourning her deceased father, as well as dealing with classic survivor’s guilt. Meanwhile, Judy has trouble making friends. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, but it’s something. However, there isn’t much of a connection between the characters’ arcs and the horror elements that occur. Once the evil is dealt with, the narrative abruptly switches back to resolving the minor problems they all had before that incredibly traumatic experience. The narrative is still paper-thin, centering around one-dimensional stereotypes of any teenage horror you’ve seen in the last 30 years.
Rating: It Was Just okay
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
After five years, we finally have another entry in the main series. I was happy to see this one stray from the haunted house, running around in the dark formula. This one is far less full-fledged horror, and has a much clearer mix of crime investigation with moments of horror here and there. A young boy claims to have murdered his landlord while under demonic possession, and therefore pleads not guilty to murder. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return, add much-needed compelling screen presence, which is severely lacking in any of the spin-off films. Because this is a murder investigation story, there are fewer scares and less tension in most scenes where the scares happen. I found it interesting that most of this occurs after the haunting and focuses on the aftermath; they are trying to avoid this being too much of a rehash of the previous two installments. But does the fact that it’s different automatically mean it’s any good? Of course not. With less tension and scares to keep you gripped, the story isn’t exciting. It’s also not clear what the end goal is here. With the first two, they had to defeat the evil and save the people being haunted. The aim in this one is to prove that the boy was possessed by the devil when the killing took place, which is just not feasible, especially since he is no longer being possessed, so what exactly are they doing? I can get behind trying to do something different in a sequel, but this was not the direction.
Rating: Low Side of It Was Just Okay
The Nun II (2023)
Surprised they made a sequel, but to this film’s credit, it is better than the original; that’s rare with sequels. It hits all the same beats as most of the other films in the franchise, with characters walking around in the dark and being creeped out by disturbing imagery and then screaming uncontrollably when the demon attacks them. The way the creepy moments happen and how the scares get you isn’t quite the same as before. One particular moment with a set of magazines on a newsstand is quite creative. The story also dips into another film genre and is a little bit of an Indiana Jones story, with a mystery being gradually uncovered. It is not quite an edge-of-your-seat drama, and the ending feels way too similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it at least helps to break up the monotony of mindless scares. Speaking of the scares, how many times will they overplay how scary things are in this franchise by having a bit of loud musical score and the characters letting out an ear-splitting scream? The jump scares often don’t come from anything on screen but from suddenly hearing loud music. It’s cheap and annoying, and these films must stop doing it. The story adds a bit more to the lore of this franchise, and the different environment and period make it more visually interesting. So there is enough new here for me to be invested. The good visuals make me more hopeful for The Conjuring: Last Rites, as it also features Michael Chaves in the director’s chair.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
Franchise ranking:
- The Conjuring
- The Conjuring 2
- Annabelle: Creation
- Annabelle Comes Home
- The Nun II
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
- Annabelle
- The Nun
- The Curse of La Llorona
After a strong start, this franchise quickly runs out of interesting ideas. It reuses the same format and types of scares way too often. The main films are made watchable by the performances of Wilson and Farmiga, but the same level of acting is sadly lacking in any of the spinoffs. Paying homage to haunted house tropes can only be interesting for so long, and doing the same types of scares in every film is monumentally tiresome. Some of the later films attempt to add a bit more non-horror-related story, and a bit more character to the experience, but without any big-name cast member to draw you into the events and own the scene, they are not very engaging. It was an enjoyable experience for me, as most of my memories with horror are either older horrors or films from other genres with horror elements. So seeing what a full-fledged modern horror looks like was fascinating. I appreciated that none are ambiguous about whether the evil had been defeated or had a cliffhanger ending; some had clear happy endings. It’s equally lovely to see that characters don’t have to die for horror to be scary; there has to be the threat of dying. Ultimately, though, there is a lack of creativity regarding how the movies scare you. I’m not sure if I’ll check out the new one yet, but if I do, it will be for Wilson and Farmiga, who are the most compelling things about this franchise.
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