WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, now in theaters and on HBO Max.
The recent box office successes of A Quiet Place Part II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It are great examples of a new and clever direction that horror seems to be going in. While there will always be a sub-genre devoted to gore and jump scares, most mainstream stories focus more on tangible messages and realistic stakes. As shown in The Conjuring and A Quiet Place franchises, these ideas often have a common theme of family.
2018’s A Quiet Place eloquently brings this idea to life in a world of vicious predatory aliens that have incredibly sensitive hearing. Throughout the film, John Krasinski’s Lee Abbott and Emily Blunt’s Evelyn Abbott are two parents trying to keep their two children safe in a dangerous world. They do so while also preparing for a third that could be due any day. In the film’s final act, the creatures attack their home, and the family is separated. However, rather than save themselves, each member of the family race against the clock to save each other. In an ultimate sacrifice, Lee is killed to protect his family and newborn, leaving them safe and proving nothing is more important than family.
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A Quiet Place Part II continues this story with Evelyn and her children making their way through the world, trying to survive without a home. Though Lee is gone, their drive to protect one another continues against the monsters and humans in the world. Now, the Abbotts fight to grow their family by finding a safe group of survivors. The Conjuring franchise has a similar foundation of family, but Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) exemplify how strong families in dire situations instead.
In the first film, the Perron family’s mother becomes possessed by the witch Bathsheba, who wants to kill the family’s daughter like the witch did when she was alive. However, just as things are about to turn tragic, Lorraine reminds the mother that deep down, her love of family is stronger than any spirit. In doing so, she fights the entity residing within her and simultaneously saves her daughter and her soul.
The Conjuring 2 shows a different perspective on family as the Hodgsons in London deals with the spirit of a man speaking through their small daughter. Not wanting to give up on her, the family reaches out to the Warrens from overseas. Ultimately, their plan is a success as the Warrens save the daughter from certain death while also repelling a demonic presence tormenting the Warrens throughout the film.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It shows another perspective and how families can make hard decisions to protect their loved ones. At the beginning of the film, to save eight-year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard) from dying due to possession, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) welcomes a demon into his soul. This decision spares David but leads Arne to commit murder. But even after the terrible act, Arne was never without someone to care for him or his soul, and that same familial support helps save him and avoid the death penalty in court.
The Conjuring and A Quiet Place franchises show that horror can have spectacle without being devoid of heart. With family playing such a huge role in both stories, natural stakes are created as no audience member wants to see them get hurt or worse. The success in the box office also proves that while there will always be traditionally scary and violent horror films, the genre’s true future lies in family.
Directed by Michael Chaves, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook and Julian Hilliard. It is currently playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
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