Top 10 Secrets About How The Conjuring Franchise Scenes Were Filmed
#10: The Exorcism of David Glatzel
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“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (2021) In the opening scene, Ed and Lorraine Warren facilitate the exorcism of eight-year-old David, as the demon inside him definitely puts up a fight. In one of the most unnerving moments, David contorts his body into all sorts of positions. You’d be forgiven for thinking that was all CGI, but stunt performer Emerald Wulf actually did those movements! Speaking of stunt work, David then has to pounce Ed and pin him to the floor. For this, two angles were made, one for the performers to fall into a landing pad and another for a cable to drag them to create a sliding effect. That looks like fun; can we go next?
#9: Rain Scene
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“The Conjuring 2” (2016) Even more so than the first film, “The Conjuring 2” had a flair for the dramatic, mixing real emotion with genuine scares. Prior to the big showdown with Valak at the Hodgson residence, Lorraine gets locked out of the house with Ed inside, fearing for his life. Desperate to learn the demon’s name and thus remove its power, Lorraine cries out in despair. It’s a very theatrical sequence, and behind-the-scenes footage reveals the circular track the camera rested on to get the shot. There might not have been much room for Vera Farmiga to explore, but such is the filmmaking experience, as both she and the crew turn a simple scene into one of the most memorable.
#8: Father Kastner’s Death
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“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” (2021) You wouldn’t really think this a technically complex scene to shoot, but it just goes to show the ingenuity on display to make a simple scene all the more creepy. After Isla the Occultist takes out Father Kastner, Lorraine gets flashes of her in POV. Rather than simply point a camera down the old-fashioned way, the crew had a head mount built that’s probably a little more impressive than your GoPro. This was also likely used when Lorraine uses the body of one of Isla’s victims to find her lair. She caught Isla at a bad time again as she attempted to get Arne long distance, but thankfully she’s able to interrupt the connection.
#7: Baby Carriage
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“Annabelle” (2014) Mia does not have good luck with baby carriages in this movie. Coming hot off her demon scare with a ghostly baby carriage in the basement, Mia decides to go for a stroll with her newfound baby. With Mia distracted, the carriage starts to roll into the street before being promptly obliterated by a garbage truck. According to the laws of 1994’s “Speed,” though, any carriage crushed by traffic cannot have an actual baby in it, as it’s revealed Mia’s had her in her arms the whole time. Behind-the-scenes footage shows a fairly simple execution, as a ramp installed on the curb gives the pulled carriage an easier path into the street. We just hope any onlookers didn’t misconstrue the situation.
#6: Wheelchair Ride
“Annabelle: Creation” (2017) The demon takes advantage of young Janice’s polio a lot in this movie, and that just ain’t cool. One morning, upon noticing Janice in her wheelchair in the front yard, the demon poses as Sister Charlotte and decides to dump her off in the barn in the cruelest way possible. The helplessness makes it absolutely terrifying, but the behind-the-scenes footage makes it look kinda fun. In order to get steady profile shots of child actor Talitha Bateman, she and the camera operator were placed on a handcar of sorts with two production assistants pushing from behind and one pulling from the front. Bateman comments it seems slow, but she’s obviously not seeing the finished product.
#5: Stairlift
“Annabelle: Creation” (2017) There the demon goes messing with sweet, little Janice again. Earlier on, Janice tries to escape downstairs via her stairlift, only for the thing to go on the fritz and send her right back up. At the top, she trepidatiously waits for some kind of scare, and gets it when she’s snatched right out of her seat. The landing is none too pretty, obviously, but we love the behind-the-scenes footage, which shows the stunt performer suddenly whisked away on wires like a marionette. You know what, forget the landing pad from the first entry; this is the stunt that we wanna try.
#4: Janet on the Ceiling
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“The Conjuring 2” (2016) One of the most iconic shots of any “Conjuring” film is that of Janet Hodgson on the ceiling. Seemingly the lightning rod for supernatural events in the household, she awakens to find herself paralyzed looking down at the living room. When it comes to setpieces, oftentimes the easiest solution is the right one, as the production simply created a portion of the upside-down set for actor Madison Wolfe to lie down on. From there, the only real trickery you’re seeing is the camera rotate and ascend, the opposite of what it looks like in the movie. In the scene, Janet is then pulled back up into her bedroom, but that was likely another take altogether.
#3: Werewolf Scare
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“Annabelle Comes Home” (2019) Of all the crazy creatures we’ve come across in “The Conjuring” Universe, a werewolf is definitely the most out-there. After first chasing Bob, the werewolf manages to trap Judy in a convertible, clawing its way through the roof. For this scene, a hyper-realistic werewolf head was created, one whose snout can snarl and bare its teeth when appropriate. Sometimes only the head was used, whereas other times a stuntperson found themself in a full-body version that would slay at any Halloween party. Thankfully, Bob actor Michael Cimino didn’t actually hit the stunt werewolf with a guitar. A post of sorts was substituted in order to get that real exploding guitar effect.
#2: Nancy’s Wild Ride
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“The Conjuring” (2013) Poor Nancy. She gets put through the wringer in this scene. First, to achieve the invisible hair pulling, wires were used. Seems simple enough, right? Well, wait until you see this. For the part where the demon decides to drag her across the living room, three Nancy stunt doubles were used for a single shot: one to react to being thrust against a pane of glass, and two others to be pulled by a wire attached to their harnesses while other actors dive after them. Watch the scene again, and you can see which time a new Nancy enters the shot after another goes out of frame. This is movie-making at its finest.
#1: The Crooked Man
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“The Conjuring 2” (2016) Most people will assume that the Crooked Man was done entirely using CGI, but nope! He’s actually played by actor Javier Botet, who is 6’7” and has Marfan syndrome, giving him the hyperflexibility needed to pull off some of his stunts. Though he probably didn’t move through the walls like in the movie, Botet really did burst out of the closet and leap over the bed in one of the movie’s scariest moments. To say nothing of the outstanding costuming work done, the Crooked Man is one outstanding, practical creature design that people aren’t likely to forget anytime soon.
