James Wan’s 2013 horror film The Conjuring was a tribute to paranormal terror from the 1970s that took the box office by storm. Strong reviews and word-of-mouth carried the modestly-budgeted haunted house film to a worldwide gross of over $300 million, launching an extended universe of horror movies imaginatively dubbed the Conjuring Universe. Central to the films are Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The majority of the films follow a case the Warrens actually investigated, with several spin-offs based on the devils and demons that haunt the world of The Conjuring.
Key ingredients to The Conjuring universe include a dedication to specific color schemes married with jump scares, ghastly ghouls, and disembodied door slams by the dozen. It is also consistent in its depiction of faith as a form of white magic capable of dispelling even the most dangerous demons, and in its heart-warming assertion that love is stronger than the purest evil. Without spoiling, over-hyping, or over-bashing, here is every movie in the Conjuring Universe ranked from best to worst.
8.) The Curse of La Llorona
Director: Michael Chaves
Writers: Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis
Cast: Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Roman Christou, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Patricia Velasquez
Set in Los Angeles in 1973, The Curse of La Llorona is based on real Central and Latin American folklore about “the weeping woman.” One family’s tragedy is passed to another when social worker Anna’s (Linda Cardellini) children become the target of a vengeful spirit. They seek the aid of whomever they can in their battle against La Llorona, including a priest and a shaman. The movie is tonally unique and features the most diverse cast of any film in The Conjuring franchise.
The movie is buoyed by intense, dramatic performances from Patricia Velasquez and Linda Cardellini, who elevate every scene. Deft use of Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) as a fearless shaman adds another magical element to The Conjuring universe, and it’s always nice to see his talents utilized outside of the gangster and military roles to which he is typically relegated. The child actors, as in each entry under The Conjuring umbrella, deliver authentic, terror-inducing performances, but their characters are never given time to develop. The story establishes them as the protagonist’s kids, and that’s about all we get. Cookie-cutter jump scares and garden variety horror beats coupled with incomplete characterization and a cold open that feels out of place bog this film down to the bottom of the list, but the pace, concept, and performances offer some redemption for this otherwise run-of-the-mill horror movie.
7.) The Nun
Director: Corin Hardy
Writer: Gary Dauberman
Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Damian Bichir, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons, Ingrid Bisu
Corin Hardy’s spinoff of The Conjuring 2 is a dark (literally dark) and visceral film. While most movies set in The Conjuring universe demonstrate how Christian faith can be weaponized against the forces of evil, The Nun leans more heavily into a religious historical fiction angle that makes it visually and tonally unique. The earliest film chronologically in the entire Conjuring franchise takes place in Europe in 1952. The lush green forests of Romania enshroud the dark, grey convent beset on all sides by crosses. A suicide at the convent prompts the Vatican to send a priest and a young nun to investigate. They enlist a French Canadian man hiding out in the local village to take them to the convent and stumble upon several piles of foreshadowing along the way.
The Nun has some interesting visuals, despite the production design leaning towards more monochromatic hues throughout. At almost any point, the film can be paused and the frame itself will tell a story, often one related to faith. The black, white, and grey color scheme reinforces the dual nature of the forces at work in both The Nun and the franchise. Good vs evil and faith vs fear are conflicts explored visually, thematically, and narratively throughout. There’s a missing link somewhere between The Nun and The Conjuring 2 that has yet to explain the demon Valak’s appearance after the conclusion of this film, but in a film universe that spans 30 years, there’s plenty of time to tell that story.
6.) Annabelle
Director: John R. Leonetti
Writer: Gary Dauberman
Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard, Kerry O’Malley
The spin-off film that spawned its own trilogy, Annabelle is a prequel to The Conjuring that follows the titular demon doll. A young expectant couple, Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton), experience a terrifying home invasion attack after recently bringing a vintage porcelain doll into their house. The attackers are killed, but later, after Mia and John’s child is born, strange things start happening. They seek the help of a priest when they begin to suspect evil spirits of targeting their child.
Mia and John make for a cute and sympathetic couple, and there's a specific type of fear and concern watching a pregnant woman terrorized. Every stumble, fall, and demonic encounter is caked in a particular kind of discomfort. Annabelle Wallis (no relation to the doll) is charming, vulnerable, and compelling as the protagonist of this colorful if unconventional haunted horror tale. The film subscribes to the “less is more” mantra in its revelation of the demonic entity, careful not to overexpose the beast because the unknown is often more terrifying. But unfortunately, the movie falls back into tired horror tropes too often to earn a stronger recommendation.
5.) Annabelle Comes Home
Director/Writer: Gary Dauberman
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, McKenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife
Longtime franchise scribe Gary Dauberman didn't disappoint with his chance to direct Annabelle Comes Home. It’s the first of any spinoff to feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga prominently, but the central story is about a teen babysitter caught in the worst haunted house imaginable. The movie picks up shortly after the ending of The Conjuring, with Ed and Lorraine heading out on a new investigation and leaving their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace) in the care of their usual babysitter, Madison Iseman. Of course the babysitter invites some of her friends over, and of course they don’t have the proper respect for the Warrens’ wishes or property, and they accidentally unleash several entities on the house, including the villainous doll Annabelle.
Judy Warren seems significantly older compared to her depiction in The Conjuring, and this film also boasts the most notable aesthetic changes to the Annabelle doll, irrespective of wear and tear through the timeline. That said, it’s suitably tense and frightening thanks to the introduction of multiple new spirits who may yet see their own spinoffs in The Conjuring universe. The Ferryman is arguably the most memorable of the new ghosts, but he’s not the only unique monster that is introduced. All of these entities come to life after the babysitter’s best friend Daniela (Katie Sarife) strolls haphazardly through the Warrens’ collection of haunted items, prodding, stroking, and lifting whatever piques her interest, which is reminiscent of the basement scene in 2011’s The Cabin in the Woods. That’s not the only fun scene in the film, as the movie tries and succeeds at being a different flavor in the mix of things that make the Conjuring Universe so interesting. The smoked-out sets, glowy lights, fantasy-based monsters, and slightly playful tone make Annabelle Comes Home a unique entry in the series and greater franchise.
4.) The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Director: Michael Chaves
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hilliard
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the newest installment in the Conjuring films, and the third of the main series. It’s the first of the three directed by someone other than James Wan, and It breaks the mold of the previous two in several ways. First, it introduces a human villain, as opposed to a disembodied entity, that the Warrens must confront with practicality instead of spirituality. It also finds ways to weaponize Ed and Lorraine against each other for the first time in the series, but in the end, it fulfills the series' spanning motif of love conquering evil.
Based on the performances he conjured forth from Linda Cardellini and Patricia Rodriguez, it’s no wonder Blumhouse tapped Michael Chaves to direct another film in the universe after his freshman effort The Curse of La Llorona. His new vision for the series creates several opportunities for Farmiga and Wilson to discover new wrinkles to their characters eight years after their on-screen journey together began. The movie opens with the blood-chilling exorcism of David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), and moves quickly into establishing a courtroom drama angle that gets pushed aside in pursuit of a paper-thin mystery surrounding the main villain. Where many films related to the mainline series fall to formula, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It tries something new, for better or worse. Some memorable set pieces and an origin story for Ed and Lorraine’s relationship help make this one of the better films in the franchise.
3.) Annabelle: Creation
Director: David F. Sandberg
Writers: Gary Dauberman
Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Samara Lee, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson, Stephanie Sigman
Annabelle: Creation is an awesome, terrifying, relentless prequel to Annabelle and The Conjuring. It offers up scare after scare at a frightening pace throughout its hour and 49-minute runtime. It opens with the portrait of a happy family in the 1940s whose bliss is cut short by a tragic accident resulting in the death of their daughter. 12 years later, the couple has remade their home into an orphanage for young girls. Things start going bump in the night after a child’s curiosity unleashes a demon’s fury on the unsuspecting house. The film pulls back the curtain further on the inciting incident that led to the inhuman inhabitation of the titular doll and is one of the more consistently entertaining films in the Conjuring Universe.
The introduction to the house plays like an homage to the tracking shot move-in sequence in the beginning of The Conjuring, complete with a contemporary song crackling through the radio in the background. The sinister application of music and sound throughout adds layers of tension on top of the demonic imagery, creating several jaw-clenching, heart-pounding scenes. A strong commitment to color—red and brown during the day, and blues, pinks, and blacks at night—and playful use of foreground and background is the foundation of what makes this movie so visually interesting. An overly large cast and some subpar digital effects are the only two strikes against it, but otherwise any horror fan would delight in director David F. Sandberg’s well-crafted entry.
2.) The Conjuring 2
Director: James Wan
Writers: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe, Frances O’Connor, Lauren Esposito
From the opening frame, The Conjuring 2 sets out to blaze a new path forward for the visual styling of the franchise. The setup is similar to the first, with a large family under siege by paranormal forces who enlist the aid of paranormal experts to rid them of their demon drama. The film itself is shot in a more contemporary style, doing away with many of the static, slow zooms of its predecessor and making effective use of its cramped setting.
The washed-out earth tones of The Conjuring are replaced by cooler-colored costumes and lighting. Blue hues fill most scenes in dreary ol’ England, while the warmer ‘70s-inspired color palette of the first film dominates the scenes in the Warrens’ stateside home. The movie introduces several new demonic characters including the Nun and the Crooked Man, both of whom were intended to star in their own spinoff films. (One of those spinoffs features on this list.) The filmmakers clearly recognized the chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, as Ed and Lorraine’s relationship remains the centerpiece of the film.
Clever production design and some of the best CGI animation and effects make this one of the more satisfying rewatches of the Conjuring Universe, but as with all sequels, The Conjuring 2 must up the ante. Attempting to one-up the melodrama of the first film results in an intense but over-the-top climax to an otherwise strong follow up to one of the most revered horror films of the last twenty years.
1.) The Conjuring
Director: James Wan
Writers: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell
The Conjuring takes the cake because it is without a doubt one of the best modern horror movies, and it rightfully heralded as one of the scariest films of all time. When the Perron family moves out to the country and begins experiencing unexplainable terrors, targeted mostly towards the mother and children, they seek the help of paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren. Renowned for their recent handling of a possessed doll, Ed and Lorraine head to the Perrons’ home in Rhode Island where they find the terrified family of 7 bedding down in the living room of a 14 bedroom farmhouse together. The pair must work to uncover the history of the old estate if they are to understand what and why this family is being maligned by paranormal forces.
While it’s a basic haunted house set-up, the movie’s strengths are in how it tells its story. Director James Wan carries over a few tricks he employed in his Insidious installments, but the casts, tone, and colors distinctly delineate the two franchises. The editing and shot composition are masterfully utilized to build tension and slap down jump scares in a way that feels thrilling rather than cheap. In addition, frightening slow-burn scenes gradually draw the dead in sight, forcing the cast and viewer to confront fear unflinchingly. The movie’s narrative feels complete, drawing from subplots and memories to create an explosive, satisfying, and emotional conclusion that leaves the door open for more mysteries for the Warrens to solve.