The Conjuring Universe: Ranking Every Film So Far

The Conjuring Universe is a rapidly growing franchise that has served up some classic horror fare and some absolute horror trash in its six year run.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. The Conjuring Universe consists of two main features following Ed and Lorraine and four spin-off films that investigate the origins of some of the demons, dolls and general Big Bad’s the couple have encountered.  

In honour of both the release of its latest installment, The Curse of La Llorona, the upcoming release of Annabelle Comes Home and the passing of real life inspiration Lorraine Warren, I thought it was time to do a ranking of the six films we have been offered so far. Let’s explore the dark hallways of The Conjuring Universe.

6. The Nun (2018, dir. Hardy)

What the hell was this film meant to be? The Nun-juring is a real low point of the franchise for me with more accidental laughs than purposeful scares. This film is a perfect example of when a trailer ruins the best moments. The few scares that may have been successful were shown in the trailer and this led to a big disappointment at the cinema. I will give it credit for its beautiful production design, the locations are stunning and very reminiscent of Hammer Horror. Unfortunately the plot of the film just didn’t live up to its environment. Valak deserved better.

5. Annabelle (2014, dir. Leonetti)

Well, it’s no longer the worst Conjuring Universe film at least, but there is very little else redeemable about this film. It seemed a perfect idea to follow up The Conjuring with a prequel about the curiously creepy doll that is trapped in a glass cage in the Warren’s basement. What we ended up with was a mess of cults, attempted generic jump scares and a bland family that didn’t manage to get audiences rallying behind them.

4. The Curse of La Llorona (2019, dir. Chaves)

The most recent offering to The Conjuring Universe may seem like just a jump scare factory to some, but I definitely enjoyed my time in the cinema watching this one. Yes it’s clichéd. Yes there are some character issues, and Goddamn there is so much unnecessary exposition that this could have been a short film without it! Yet, the tale of The Weeping Woman was beautifully done in many ways with some great visuals. Sometimes a traditional, slightly played out, jump scare parade is just what a horror fan needs. Not perfect but a welcome addition to the family.

3. The Conjuring 2 (2016, dir. Wan)

The Conjuring 2 was a brilliant follow up to the original creator. The Warrens make a trip to England and investigate The Enfield Poltergeist, a famous case that still has a dark cloud of controversy surrounding it. This film really revels in its dark origins and introduces a truly unnerving demon, Valak, whose multiple forms in this film are simply terrifying. The Crooked Man was a towering dose of nightmare fuel and it gave us one of the most chilling scenes of the franchise.

This is an amazing film overall, but there is a BBC version of story called The Enfield Haunting that is simply vastly superior. Unfortunately that meant I was already a little bit expectant on this one and my standards were just a little higher. I take nothing away from this film but I highly recommend checking out The Enfield Haunting.

2. Annabelle Creation (2017, dir. David F. Sandberg)

Annabelle gets it right the second time around. This is the origin film that she deserves as such an integral part of The Conjuring Universe. The backstory is much tighter and more in keeping with the franchise as a whole. There are some brilliantly orchestrated scares in this prequel-sequel, one of which I will touch on later. Honestly the scenes with the stairlift are worryingly tense and executed perfectly for a prolonged scare. It still manages to link itself back to Annabelle but it definitely breathes new life into the possessed porcelain doll.

Storytime: When we went to the cinema to see this film there was a couple in front of us, clearly on a midweek date. The woman was not as big a fan of horror as her partner, this was clear from the moment the lights dimmed. Part way through the film the man lent over to her and whispered “I need to go to the toilet, but I’ll wait until it’s a light scene.”. Smart man. Sound logic. Not in this film though. He left during the daytime barn scene, hands down one of the biggest jump scare scenes I’ve witnessed in a long time. Suffice to say, his date was white-knuckling the arms rests when he returned. I have complete sympathy for this poor woman, but it was bloody hilarious.

1. The Conjuring (2013, dir. Wan)

The original, the big daddy that started this whole universe rolling is still the best it has offered. Of course, the original of anything is always going to hold a special place in the hearts of its audience, but this truly was a brilliant film. This is a true love letter to classic gothic horror and moved the genre away from the torture porn trend that had been defining it for a while. From the simplicity of the hide and clap scare and the perfect timing of the wardrobe demon this film really hits the horror mark. It might get a little bit, love saves the day, in the end, but it is still a great atmospheric horror with scares, lore and some great performances.

The Conjuring Universe shows no sign of slowing down either with four more films on the cards already. The trailer for Annabelle Comes Home has dropped and caused a lot of interest in the horror community. It feels like the the true tie in film between the official Conjuring films and the stand-alone creature films, bringing the Warrens back onto the screen but allowing them to not be the main focus. Already I’m intrigued to see how the Warren’s basement will come to life and which other sinister entities will be introduced in this sequel. Creepy children, button eyes and chairs that rock all by themselves, this is some promising Conjuring creepiness.

The Conjuring 3 has a proposed release date of September 2020 and so far there has been no confirmed plot, just a few hints and a bit of fan speculation. It will definitely be based on another real-life case investigated by the Warrens. The main two cases that have been discussed are the Devil Made Me Do It case from 1981 in which a man pleads not guilty to murder due to demonic possession, and the Southend Werewolf about a demon who takes the shape of a wolf and possessed a man in Essex. Both seem like valid options and will manage to move the franchise away from the haunted house cliché…possibly.

Beyond that are two more film that don’t yet have a release date, The Nun 2 and The Crooked Man. As you can tell from this list I hold very little affection for The Nun so I’m slightly worried about this one. Is the second Nun movie going to pull a full Annabelle Creation? It could surprise me and learn from the mistakes of its predecessor. Is The Crooked Man going to live up to my nightmare filled expectations? My big worry with this one is that he was almost thrown away as just being one of Valak’s many forms in The Conjuring 2. This could lead to some stale repetition in the franchise and I would much rather see them do something original and unique with such an imposing character.

For now it is a lot of speculation and the occasional tight lipped leak from an actor of producer. I’m hopeful and excited to see the continuation of this rapidly expanding universe. Keep me posted Wan!