Pasan Tharinda, Jadetimes Staff
P. Tharinda is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Historical and Cultural News
The Conjuring series, Filmed by James Wan, has grown to be one of the most successful horror franchises of this modern era. While the audiences go to the theatres for those spine-chilling moments and ghostly scares, it is the realistic feel that these movies create that sets them apart from most horror movies. The Conjuring Universe is based on real-life paranormal investigations carried out by Ed and Lorraine Warren, adding a layer of authenticity to the supernatural events depicted on screen. But how much of the series' portrayal of haunting and paranormal occurrences is truly grounded in reality?
The Real-Life Warrens and Their Investigations
Central to the Conjuring movies are the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose real-life cases form the basis for many of the events in the series. Founding the New England Society for Psychic Research back in the 1950s, the Warrens were involved in some of the most notorious and disputed paranormal investigations in history. From the haunting of the Perron family portrayed in The Conjuring to the very famous Amityville Horror case, investigations by Warren have been the subject of fascination and skepticism.
On-screen, characters Ed and Lorraine Warren are usually shown as devout and honest, often putting their lives and those of the families they try to help at risk against spiritual powers. That sense of realism in those portrayals is heightened, considering that the Warrens indeed were involved in real investigations, many of which, to this day, have not been resolved or explained. Though the films took licenses with the details for more dramatisation, a historical context of the cases investigated by the Warrens gives them an aura of credibility.
However, not all the cases of the Warrens are universally accepted to be fact. Many critics believe that investigations by the Warrens and events as portrayed in the Conjuring films are sensationalised or outright fabricated for the sake of entertainment. The Amityville Horror, a case around which one of their most famous cases would centre, has been greatly debunked as a hoax (The New York Times, 1977). Yet, the films’ ability to depict these events with a sense of authenticity—coupled with their real-world inspiration—creates a suspension of disbelief that makes the supernatural occurrences feel tangible to audiences.
The Use of Authenticity in Film-making
James Wan, the director of the Conjuring series, has consistently used real-world elements to heighten the film’s realism. Practical effects, together with the overall sound design and performances, provide a good dose of authenticity. Much of Wan's work leans on subtle technique over-reliance on outlandish visuals or cheap jump scares. For example, in The Conjuring 2, the decision to use an old recording device to capture the paranormal phenomena follows real-life devices that were used by the Warrens themselves during any investigation.
Furthermore, the cinematography in the Conjuring movies often involves long takes and natural lighting, adding to the eerie realism of the settings. The use of dimly lit rooms, shaky camera movements, and low-frequency sounds during hauntings makes the viewer feel as though they are witnessing something tangible rather than a staged or fictionalized event. These stylistic choices align with the film's central theme of confronting real, unexplainable forces.
Adding to that realistic tone would be the settings of the film. Most of the Conjuring movies are set in locations very similar to the actual houses and environments where the Warrens investigated. For example, the Perron family's Rhode Island farmhouse in The Conjuring was meticulously replicated from the real location, further blurring the line between fiction and reality. This attention to detail helps the audience feel like they are being taken into a real space that is haunted, building up to the emotional punch of the scares.
The Supernatural Meets Psychological Realism
While supernatural themes are heavy in most of the Conjuring films, the series also captures psychological realism to make horrors more relatable. Adding depth to characters and situations with fear, trauma, and personal struggles of the families affected by hauntings helps to enrich their portrayal. For instance, The Conjuring 2 tells the story of the Hodgson family and their experience with the Enfield Poltergeist. Their emotional turmoil and skepticism from people outside are put across in such a realistic manner that the paranormal elements seem much more believable.
Furthermore, the psychic abilities of Lorraine Warren are an integral part of the series and are not portrayed as a gimmick but as a tool to dig deeper into the nature of fear and the human soul. The films insinuate that while supernatural forces may well be real, they generally exploit the psychological vulnerabilities in the individuals whom they haunt. This interaction between the mind and the supernatural realm only reinforces the fact that fear is as much a supernatural concept as it is a psychological one.
The Cultural Context of Fear
The Conjuring films also tap into deeply ingrained cultural fears that have been passed down through generations. Ghosts, demonic possessions, and hauntings are not new concepts-these are themes that have appeared in folklore, religious texts, and urban legends across various cultures for centuries. By drawing on these archetypal fears, the Conjuring series taps into the universal anxieties that many viewers already associate with the supernatural.
In the case of The Conjuring, demonic possession draws on elements of Catholicism and its teachings of the battle between good and evil. The portrayal of exorcisms and spiritual warfare in the films will perhaps ring a bell with viewers who are familiar with Christian teachings and add an additional layer of realism to the narrative. The framing of these events as "real" cases also plays into the collective fear of the unknown and the possibility that these supernatural forces could, in theory, exist.
The Conjuring series can create a sense of realism through the combination of real-life inspiration and compelling cinematic techniques. With this much focus on Warren's investigations, practical effects, and how haunting affects their characters emotionally, these movies sometimes make the supernatural elements as real as they would have been in the eyes of a person standing amidst those situations. A mixture of psychological and supernatural realism sends the viewer questioning the true happening while taking them along an entertaining and chilling journey to that world where the dimensions among the living and dead become so thin.
While the events in the Conjuring series are not facts that could be verified, the attention to detail and the cultural relevance of the series provide a visceral take on the supernatural through some very grounded storytelling. Be one a believer in ghosts, demonic possession, or the work of the Warrens; the sense of realism in the Conjuring series keeps viewers at the edge of their seats, thinking that maybe, just maybe, the supernatural is far more real than they think.
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