Money made me do it
How The Conjuring franchise is the best example of dilution through mass appeal.
To preface this, I must admit that while I am a big horror fan, I’m not necessarily a fan of supernatural or religiously inspired horror unless it’s done in a genuinely clever way, like Paul W. S. Anderson’s Event Horizon. I would even class the first two Hellraiser movies as those that get the supernatural right. I am not the target audience of The Conjuring, but when one sees that The Conjuring franchise is the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time, one does begin to wonder if they are actually any good.
And, to my honest surprise, the first two movies in the main franchise are decent. The Conjuring is a lovely, if slightly conventional flick that does some genuinely clever things. I appreciate how at times the camera work is presented in documentary fashion, as well as the subversion of jump scares into scares that are genuinely terrifying; one scene that comes to mind is when the mother in the first film (the family is clichéd and mostly rather forgettable, apart from Joey King’s character who is great as a scream queen) is locked in the basement with just matches, only for hands to appear and clap behind her – a much better effect than some makeup caked oddity jumping out into the camera.
The second movie is set in Enfield and is much scarier, again due to the fact it utilises more of these subversions. Things never seem to happen the way they think, and you’re edged onwards in a constant state of tension, waiting for something to happen. However, the mass market appeal plays more into the second outing, since it not only does have more scares, but also more jump scares. And the god damn nun.
The Nun, and the Nun in it are not that scary. Yes, they do cool things with her in The Conjuring 2, but The Nun is a schlock fest. It’s an idea purely borne by the fact that everything to do with Catholicism is now spooky and scary. The subtext – though I doubt the writers planned on it happening – is of course based on the Catholic Church having been beset by scandals over the past few years and is no longer the same hallowed institution in a secular and sceptical world. But that is boring. It’s the same shtick played out again, and since it’s a cash grab spin-off designed because the Nun was scary, they use the movie as an excuse to get the masses into seats, throw in a bunch of medieval looking imagery, which isn’t even close to any real magic – compare it to the actual Ars Goetia for the real Valak who is a demon that finds treasures. It’s certainly not a scary nun whose screams can launch people into the sky, like they do several times consecutively in the climax of the movie.
You can see such degradation over time, as this promising horror franchise slowly replaces the thoughtfulness its scares had with cheap, gimmicky, and trope-laden movies. I haven’t seen any of The Conjuring movies beyond The Nun, but if it’s anything to indicate the direction of this franchise, I am not interested. Horror is evergreen, and has had a particularly good few years in the late 2010s and early 2020s. There’s plenty more out there – watch a Robert Eggers flick instead.
Mohammad Majlisi
