Here's How You Can Watch Every Movie In The Conjuring Universe
Believe it or not, nearly a decade has passed since James Wan unleashed the unholy hell that is The Conjuring on the cinematic masses, and it's safe to assume many moviegoers still haven't gotten over it. Based on the alleged "true stories" of famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively), The Conjuring tells the terrifying tale of a close-knit family being terrorized by an evil spirit shortly after moving into their new home. Steeped in real-world human drama, boasting some legitimately masterful jump scares, and conjuring an effusive sense of supernatural dread rarely matched in modern cinema, The Conjuring not only scared the bejesus out of moviegoers when it was released in 2013, it did so while scaring up some seriously robust box office numbers.
So impressive was the original film's haul that Warner Bros. brass began eyeing other tales from the Warren couple's vaults for the big screen treatment. They've found much success along the way, too, building out an entire MCU-styled cinematic universe from the couple's vast array of paranormal investigations. To date, The Conjuring universe is a full seven movies deep and growing, ensuring those that enjoy a good scare with a dash of real-world mythos will have options aplenty to feast upon.
And feast they have, with films in The Conjuring universe continuing to play well both for theatrical audiences and those who prefer to get their spooky kicks in the comfort of their own living room. If you're among the latter group, you should know that the entirety of The Conjuring-verse is currently available to you via the VOD/streaming realm. Here's how you can watch every movie in The Conjuring universe.
The O.G. Conjuring flicks are currently available on Netflix
Whether you're a Conjuring-verse die-hard or just a casual Conjuring reveler dabbling in the verse's ghastly delights, you probably know that the original movie remains the absolute best the franchise has to offer. That has a lot to do with James Wan's surprisingly subtle approach to the supernatural drama, with the director taking time to build tension between scares and letting his all-star cast (including Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Joey King, and Mackenzie Foy) carry the deeply personal drama. Wan also more than delivers the goods when it's time to let those scares play too. And it's that combination that's helped make The Conjuring not just the best-loved film of the franchise, but also the most endlessly re-watchable.
Though the film's 2016 follow-up, The Conjuring 2, didn't quite match up, it still featured thrills and chills aplenty with the Warrens taking their talents to a not-so merry old England and confronting a most unpleasant pair of foes in the cartoonishly vile Crooked Man, and that utterly terrifying demon Nun which an unwitting Ed had taken to painting. On their own, each of the proper Conjuring movies are genuinely unsettling event films that will more than sate the appetite of horror fandom and the popcorn loving public alike. And as a possible double-feature, the stark one-two impact will likely leave both factions fighting a sleepless night or two. But if you still want to dive into that double feature, you can now stream both The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 on Netflix.
Some extended Conjuring universe movies are now streaming on HBOMax
Assuming that you've seen at least the first The Conjuring flick, you no doubt recall some of the most chilling moments in the film revolve around a seriously creepy, seriously possessed porcelain doll which goes by the name Annabelle. As such, you probably know said doll was the first Conjuring-verse figure to get the spinoff treatment. While 2014's Annabelle largely underwhelmed, the demonic doll's story really came into its own in the subsequent sequels, 2017's Annabelle: Creation, and 2019's Annabelle Comes Home. And if you're among the masses who opted out of those sequels after being underwhelmed by Annabelle, you can currently correct that mistake by catching up with both sequels on HBO Max.
Ditto for one of the more recent Conjuring spinoff flicks, 2019's supernatural creeper The Curse of La Llorna, which follows the tale of single Mom (Linda Cardellini) desperate to protect her children from the titular evil spirit. For the record, The Curse of La Llorna is easily the film the least connected to rest of The Conjuring franchise. Though well acted and well intentioned, it's also one of the least effective. And for those looking for a movie that does the mythos far more justice, the other La Llorna flick released in 2019 is actually quite fantastic. It's titled La Llorna, and it's now streaming on Shudder. Check it out.
But if you're a Conjuring-verse completist, The Curse of La Llorna is obviously a must-see. And if you must see The Curse of La Llorna, you can indeed see it on HBO Max.
You'll have to look a little harder to revisit The Nun and Annabelle
As is often the case when a singular property is franchised and spun-off in different directions, the expansion of The Conjuring universe has largely been one of diminishing returns in terms of quality. That trend really does start with the original spin-off flick, 2014's Annabelle. To be clear, it's not that Annabelle isn't a decent enough movie that has its share of creepy kicks. It's mostly that the first movie fails to match the creep level achieved in the doll's abbreviated The Conjuring appearance. Thankfully, the Annabelle franchise course corrected (and then some) in its sequels, but you really cannot appreciate those second two movies unless you've seen the first. And if you want to do that these days, you'll have to shell out a few bucks to a Video On Demand provider, as Annabelle isn't currently available on any of the major streamers.
That's also the case for another Conjuring spin-off, 2018's The Nun, which for the moment can only be seen with loads of commercial breaks on TNT, or uncut through the VOD service of your choice. As you might've guessed, The Nun delves into the horrifying backstory of the powerful demon who terrorized the Warrens in The Conjuring 2. Fans of The Conjuring universe will no doubt find much to like in the gothic world of The Nun, but even they might agree the film mostly misses the mark, suffering many of the same issues as Annabelle. Here's hoping producers also course correct, should a sequel to The Nun ever get the green light.