The Conjuring Movies Ranked: Worst To Best
Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell smashed it out of the park with the first Conjuring film and the franchise has gone on to cement itself as one of the best and most profitable horror-movie franchises of all time and with the news of the upcoming sequel to “The Nun” hitting theaters next year, I thought it was time to rank “The Conjuring” movies.
The Nun (2018)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 25% CRITIC RATING | 35% AUDIENCE RATING
“The Nun” was an absolute atrocity and I wish it could be erased from the timeline.
Valak was such a cool and scary character when it was introduced in “The Conjuring 2” but the studio saw the popularity of the character and responded with overexposure that completely ruined the mystique of the character.
The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 28% CRITIC RATING | 35% AUDIENCE RATING
“The Curse Of La Llorona” is the most generic movie in the franchise and is a film that even the studio barely recognizes as part of the universe. The film’s story had potential but it’s predictable in every way possible, filled with cheap jump scares, and ended up being a complete waste of time, talent, and money that could’ve funded a different idea within the universe.
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 64% CRITIC RATING | 70% AUDIENCE RATING
“Annabelle Comes Home” had a really cool concept, a great performance from McKenna Grace, gorgeous cinematography, but I can’t think of a single memorable scary moment, and the exploration of the cursed items in the Warren’s basement felt a bit empty without the titular characters at the helm.
Annabelle (2014)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 28% CRITIC RATING | 35% AUDIENCE RATING
“Annabelle” features one of my favorite scary moments of the entire franchise but outside of that, it’s a pretty basic horror movie that doesn’t really do much to move the needle in any direction.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 80% CRITIC RATING | 81% AUDIENCE RATING
“The Conjuring 2” was a great follow-up to the first film.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga shine once again as Ed and Lorraine Warren as they fight off the demon Valak whos trying to claim the souls of Janet Hodgson and Ed Warren.
Annabelle Creation (2018)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 70% CRITIC RATING | 67% AUDIENCE RATING
“Annabelle Creation” completely blew me away when I saw it for the first time and is by far the best “Annabelle” film.
The film explores the origin of the possessed doll Annabelle. It’s really well directed, it’s beautifully shot, and the scares are relentless for the film’s entire runtime.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 56% CRITIC RATING | 83% AUDIENCE RATING
When we first got word that James Wan wasn’t going to return to direct the third Conjuring movie, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the film. I was really worried that the film’s director wouldn’t be able to capture the same magic that Wan put into the first two films but after seeing and experiencing what Michael Chaves had to offer, it became my second favorite movie of the trilogy.
The Conjuring (2013)
ROTTEN TOMATOES: 86% CRITIC RATING | 83% AUDIENCE RATING
The film that launched a franchise that would go on to earn $2.1B from a combined production budget of approximately $178M.
Since their debut with “Saw”, it was clear that James Wan and Leigh Whannell were a writer/director duo to be on the lookout for and that partnership has produced some of the best horror films of the last 25 years, and “The Conjuring” is one of their best.
The film takes its time as we follow Ed and Lorraine Warren who’ve been called to investigate the haunting of the Perron family.