Happy Halloween with The Conjuring series

There are two ways to celebrate Halloween. There’s the trick or treating way filled with smiling pumpkins and bucket loads of candy or the more adult version – full of horror movies and sleeping with the night light on.

Should you be brave enough to choose the latter, Optus SubHub has you covered with plenty of scary movies and TV choices to stream now.

One of the biggest players in horror is Australia’s very own James Wan, who not only started two hugely successful horror franchises, Saw and Insidious - but also went on to create The Conjuring series. 

While being highly regarded, the films within the franchise can sometimes be confusing - particularly if you were watching them according to their release dates. The storyline takes place across different countries, spans five decades and sometimes you may need some context to understand characters and their motives.

So, if you wanted to watch The Conjuring series in chronological order to better understand the timelines and connect the plots of each movie a little more organically, we’ve rounded out the franchise in order to get your Halloween movie night on the right track.

Continue reading if you dare.

The Nun (2018) 
Rated MA15+, Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy) 

When a nun suddenly passes away under a suspicious circumstance in 1952 Romania, a priest and his young novice are sent to Catholic abbey to investigate how she died. 

Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) work hard to unravel this mysterious death and eventually uncover the holy order’s dark secret. In order to contain a dark force that has taken the shape of a demonic nun, this duo must channel their heavenly beliefs to survive.

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Rated MA15+, Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy)

After popular demand and global box office success of 2014’s Annabelle, the storyline was quickly greenlit for both a prequel and a third instalment. In Annabelle: Creation, we learn the origin story of how a child’s innocent toy eventually became one of the world’s most evil relics. 

Following the death of their little girl, a doll maker and his depressed wife use occult practices to keep the spirit of their daughter alive. They soon realise that instead of their daughter’s soul they have conjured a demon instead.

Annabelle (2014)

Rated MA15+, Netflix

Step aside Chucky, Annabelle has become the front runner when it comes to scary dolls. 

The second film made in The Conjuring universe, a young newlywed couple John and Mia have their world turned upside down when their home is suddenly haunted by the paranormal antics of a vintage doll named Annabelle.  

John and Mia do their best to get rid of the doll but there is seemingly no escaping Annabelle’s evil play.

The Conjuring (2013)

Rated MA15+, Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy)

The movie that started it all. The Conjuring follows the two main characters that we will follow throughout the series – paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (based on real people and played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).

In 1970, the Warrens are called to investigate a haunted farmhouse by a family who claim they are being terrorized by a dark presence. Initially the supernatural occurrences are rather minor, but things soon take a dramatic turn when the Warrens unravel the farmhouse’s macabre history. 

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Rated M, Amazon Prime

After years of wreaking havoc and destroying lives, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren decide to lock up the possessed Annabelle doll in their artefact room to contain its demonic activity. 

While Ed and Lorraine are away on business, they hire a teenage babysitter to watch over their 10-year-old daughter but when curiosity gets the best of her, the young babysitter accidently provokes Annabelle.  

As an act of revenge, Annabelle targets the Warren’s daughter Judy as her next victim.

The Curse of the La Llorona (The Curse of the Weeping Woman - 2019)

Rated M, Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy)

The first spin-off from the main film series, The Curse of the La Llorona is set in Los Angeles in the 1970’s where a folklore ghost named La Llorona supposedly haunts the streets.

For years residents have overlooked this local legend as silly town talk but when a social worker and her children are drawn into a supernatural realm, people start to believe once again. 

A disillusioned priest and his mystic practices are called in to combat this evil spirit and save the town.

The Conjuring 2 (2016) 
Rated MA15+, Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy)

Ed and Lorraine head to London to help a single mother and her four children fight against a supernatural spirit that dwells in their family home.

Little do they know their youngest daughter is starting to show signs of demonic possession and evil is beginning to plague itself onto the other children.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

Rated MA15+, Netflix

In the last instalment (so far) Ed and Lorraine investigate a murder thought to be connected to a demonic possession. 

Loosely based on real events, this investigation marks the first time in American history where a murder suspect uses the supernatural as a defence - claiming he had no control of his body or actions. 

After a policeman stumbles upon a bloodied man walking dazed and confused with a dead body nearby, the suspect claims he is innocent by saying he was possessed by a demon.

Ed and Lorraine must unlock the truth discover what is really happening in town.

You can check the classification ratings for movies with Australian Classification.

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