The Secret Behind the Unstoppable Success of The Conjuring Universe, Revealed by The Nun 2 Director

Summary

The director of The Nun II believes that the scares in the Conjuring Universe are essential for its effectiveness in captivating audiences.

The Conjuring Universe's success is also due to its strong and intricately crafted characters. Additionally, the element of faith serves as a crucial aspect that entices viewers and offers a distinctive and captivating perspective.

The director of The Nun II, Michael Chaves, has shared his perspective on why he believes the Conjuring Universe is highly effective. The franchise originated with the release of The Conjuring in 2013, which centered around a haunting in 1971 and the involvement of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, loosely based on real-life figures. The subsequent films in the franchise, including sequels to The Conjuring, spinoffs such as the Annabelle trilogy, and 2018's The Nun and its forthcoming sequel, have explored various frightening encounters with demonic entities. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chaves discussed the franchise's success, attributing it to the combination of captivating scares, well-developed characters, and the presence of faith. He referred to these aspects as the "Holy Trinity" that continues to draw audiences back to the franchise.

The movies are consistently terrifying, always delivering on that primary experience. But what truly sets them apart is the abundance of emotion infused within. These films possess lovable characters and amply evoke the notion of faith. Faith, in fact, permeates through these movies, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. Nevertheless, it is the fusion of these three elements that forms the Holy Trinity of this cinematic universe.

How The Conjuring Universe Evokes These Three Elements

As highlighted by Chaves, the effectiveness of the Conjuring movies largely hinges on their ability to evoke fear. James Wan, an accomplished horror filmmaker, directed the original Conjuring film, following his success with the low-budget sensation Insidious in 2010. Wan's unique approach to gradually building tension and culminating in heart-stopping climaxes has been adopted by subsequent filmmakers involved in the franchise, such as Chaves, David F. Sandberg, Corin Hardy, and Gary Dauberman.

The franchise's cast of characters has remained remarkably consistent and fully developed. Although Ed and Lorraine Warren are not prominently featured in the spinoff movies, particularly except for 2019's Annabelle Comes Home, the essence of the Conjuring films, which revolves around their love story, remains intact. The heart of the Conjuring Universe movies always lies in the human stories, as seen in The Nun, which explores Sister Irene's relationship with her faith.

This faith theme also serves as the central focus in The Nun II, where Sister Irene makes a comeback. Chaves highlights that faith is a core element throughout the entire franchise, predominantly emphasizing demonic figures from Catholic mythology. While it remains uncertain how crucial this aspect is for the franchise as a whole, given its strong non-Catholic following, the three pillars he mentions are consistently present in each installment of this enduring franchise. It seeks to continue expanding further into the future with this latest entry.

Source: THR