The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.
Development of the film began in January 2012, and reports confirmed Wan as the director of a film entitled The Warren Files, later retitled The Conjuring, centering on the alleged real-life exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple who investigated paranormal events. In his second collaboration with Wan, Patrick Wilson starred alongside Vera Farmiga in the main roles of Ed and Lorraine. Production commenced in Wilmington, North Carolina, in February 2012, and scenes were shot in chronological order.
The Conjuring was released in the United States and Canada on July 19, 2013, by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, direction, screenplay, atmosphere, and musical score. It grossed over $319 million worldwide against its $20 million budget. A sequel, The Conjuring 2, was released in 2016.
Plot[]
In 1968, renowned demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren are investigating the Annabelle case, in which friends Debbie and Camilla say they have a possessed doll. They explain that after they contacted a medium, they allowed the spirit, who claimed to be a seven-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins who died in the apartment, to possess the doll. Unable to get rid of the doll as the hauntings became more disturbing, Debbie and Camilla decided to desperately reach out to the Warrens. The Warrens then explain how the doll was never really possessed, and was a conduit for a demonic spirit that manipulated Debbie and Camilla so that it could eventually take over one of their bodies.
Now in 1971, Roger and Carolyn Perron move into a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, with their five daughters: Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April. Their dog, Sadie, refuses to enter the house and the entrance to a cellar has been boarded up. Paranormal events occur within the first few nights. Every clock in the house stops at 3:07 AM. Sadie is found dead in the morning, and Carolyn wakes up with large bruises. She and Christine both encounter a malevolent spirit.
Carolyn contacts the Warrens who meet with her and agree to conduct an initial investigation, during which Lorraine, a clairvoyant, sees that dark forces have latched on to the Perron family, and leaving the house will not free them. To gather evidence, they place cameras and bells around the house with the help of their assistant Drew Thomas and police officer Brad Hamilton. Further research reveals that the house once belonged to an accused witch named Bathsheba Sherman (a relative of Mary Towne Eastey), who sacrificed her week-old baby to the devil and killed herself in 1863 at 3:07 in the morning after cursing all who take her land. There are reports of numerous murders and suicides through the years in the houses that were built on the property.
One morning, Bathsheba appears to Carolyn and fully possesses her. That night, the group hears a spirit luring Cindy into the wardrobe, where she reveals a secret passage. Lorraine enters the passage and falls down to the cellar, where she sees the spirit of a woman whom Bathsheba had possessed long ago and used to kill her child. Bathsheba attacks Nancy; the incident is caught on camera. The Warrens conclude it is sufficient evidence to receive authorization from the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism but Father Gordon explains that approval would have to come directly from the Vatican because the Perron family aren't members of the church.
The Warrens' daughter Judy is attacked in the Warrens' own home by Bathsheba. The Perron family takes refuge at a motel but Carolyn takes Christine and April back to the house to kill them. Ed, Lorraine, and Brad find Carolyn in the cellar trying to stab Christine. Lorraine warns that if they take Carolyn outside the house, Bathsheba will kill her. They tie Carolyn to a chair and Ed attempts the exorcism himself. Though Carolyn escapes and attempts to kill April, Lorraine is able to call to her by reminding her of a special memory she shared with her family, allowing Ed to complete the exorcism, lift Bathsheba's curse and condemn her back to Hell. Returning home, Ed adds the haunted music box from the Perrons' home to their room of cursed artifacts that they have collected from past cases. As he leaves, the music box starts playing on its own.