The Next CONJURING Film Could Explore the Satanic Panic in the 1980s
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was another great and scary sequel in James Wan’s horror franchise. I enjoyed the story it told and the thrills that it had to offer. I know this isn’t going to be the last film in the series, so I’m excited and curious about what kind of story the franchise could dive into.
Well, during a recent interview with /Film, director Michael Chaves was asked where the next chapter of The Conjuring could go and he teased that it could take us down the road of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s. He said:
“Ultimately, as you probably can guess, this is [franchise mastermind] James [Wan]’s baby. Even as he handles all of his other projects, he is the Kevin Feige of this world. So it’s really up to him, the direction that it takes. I grew up watching The X-Files. I loved how each one of those cases felt new and unique. And I think that the success of that first Conjuring is the reason we have this incredible franchise, but it’s also built this unfair expectation that they always have to be haunted house movies. I am so excited to see the Warrens go outside of the haunted house, and just take on cases that are surprising and exciting. I think there’s so much interesting material for them to explore. I also just love how we start pulling out the thread of Satanism and the Satanic Panic. And as [the franchise] heads into the ’80s, where that really became a thing, I feel like that could be really exciting to see as well.”
It would be interesting to see the franchise explore the satanic panic. I’d be curious to see Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga back as Ed and Lorraine Warren dealing this all of that insanity. But, I’d be happy and interested to see the return for whatever kind of story that Wan wants to tell next!
I’m very familiar with the Satanic Panic, it’s a fascinating time in history, and it all kicked off with a book titled Michelle Remembers, which was published in 1980. The book was written by Michelle Smith and her husband, psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder, and in it, Smith claimed, under hypnosis, that she was forced to attend Satanic rituals that involved sexual abuse when she was a child. The catch is… none of it ever happened.
Regardless, the Satanic Panic started to spread all over the U.S. with kids claiming, under police pressure, and hypnosis, that parents, teachers, and other adults were part of a satanic cult doing unthinkable horrific things that involved kids. It was a crazy time.
I imagine if we did get a Conjuring movie that explored this Satanic Panic era, it would be treated as being real and not what it actually was… crazy mass hysteria. Unless they brought them in to debunk the claims. But I imagine audiences don’t want to see a story where the Warrens are debunking things.