Supernatural horror films have been in short supply during 2013, so “The Conjuring” was bound to be a success the moment the release date was announced. “The Conjuring” is directed by James Wan, who has previously been involved with many films that can be classified in the horror genre, including “Saw,” “Dead Silence,” “Death Sentence,” and “Insidious.” Patrick Wilson (who also starred in “Insidious”) and Vera Farmiga were cast as the two lead roles, Ed and Lorraine Warren. The characters are based on a real-life pair who were famous for their ability to investigate paranormal activity; Ed died in 2006, but Lorraine is still alive and made a small cameo appearance in this film.
Development for “The Conjuring” began more than two decades ago, when the real-life Ed Warren gave an interview for Carolyn Perron. Warren passed the tape on to film producer Tony DeRosa-Grund, who in turn was intrigued by some of the first-hand accounts of paranormal activity. At the time, DeRosa-Grund mapped out a vision for the film and shared it with Warren, but it would be a long time before plans for the film would solidify. Nearly fifteen years passed before DeRosa-Grund saw some movement for his plans to film “The Conjuring.” DeRosa-Grund had already penned a script and given it a working title, but no film company was interested in what he had to offer. Eventually, Gold Circle Films showed some interest in making a film based on the script, but a contract could not be concluded between DeRosa-Grund and the film company, so the project was dropped.
Although DeRosa-Grund was disappointed with this outcome, it only hardened his resolve to get a deal done to start work on the project. DeRosa-Grund worked with fellow film producer Peter Safran and writers Chad and Carey Hayes to enhance the script further. The Hayes brothers called Lorraine Warren on multiple occasions in order to firm up the script. In the summer of 2009, multiple film studios expressed interest in landing the film. Summit Entertainment secured the deal, but the transaction was not concluded, and a deal was instead made between Evergreen Media Group (DeRosa-Grund’s film company) and New Line Cinema.
Preproduction on the film began in early 2011. James Wan was brought in as film director, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were hired for the roles of the Warrens, and Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor were confirmed to play the roles of Roger and Carolyn Perron. The film’s title was changed on multiple occasions, going from “The Untitled Warren Files Project” to “The Warren Files” and finally back to the original “The Conjuring.” In order to prepare for their roles, Wilson and Farmiga visited Lorraine Warren in Connecticut to glean as much information from her as possible.
Filming began in February of 2012 and was concluded in just a few weeks. The vast majority of production took place in North Carolina. Unusually for a film, all of the scenes were shot in chronological order. After months of editing, the final version of “The Conjuring” was completed in December 2012.
The opening scenes of the film are set in 1971, when the Perrons move into an old farmhouse in Rhode Island with their five daughters. Over the following few days, several mysterious events occur; the family dog is found dead, and Carolyn notices a bruise on her body after waking up. Roger is away on business in Florida, so Carolyn decides to call on famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their investigation of the house reveals that an exorcism will be needed. Further inquiries reveal that a witch once owned the house and cast several spells on any future dwellers. One night when the Warrens are at the house looking to gather evidence, Lorraine falls into the cellar and sees the spirits of people who had been possessed by the witch in life. The Warrens send Carolyn and her daughters away from the house so that an exorcism can be performed, but Carolyn and two of her daughters make their way back to the house. There, Carolyn attempts to murder one of her daughters, but Ed performs an exorcism in order to allow the evil spirit to leave Carolyn and saves her daughter from death.
Before its release, ” The Conjuring ” was predicted to have a strong showing at the box office. However, the film brought in $41.5 million during its opening weekend, breaking the record for the biggest opening weekend for an original R-rated horror film. Many film critics expected the film’s success to slow down after this. However, almost three weeks after its release, “The Conjuring” has earned over $100 million, which is more than five times the film’s budget. Even before this resounding success at the box office, New Line Cinema had already announced that a sequel would be made and that Wilson and Farmiga would both return to reprise their roles.