The films from The Conjuring universe have become some of the most popular horror movies of the last decade due to their truly terrifying natures, and the fact that they are each loosely based on real stories and legends. Ed and Lorraine Warren were real paranormal investigators who were massively involved in cases such as Amityville and the Perron Family Haunting.
Updated on July 24th, 2021 by Mark Birrell: Knowing where to watch all of the Conjuring movies online may seem simple, as the franchise is released by Warner Bros. and would therefore most likely be available on HBO Max. However, that's not always the case. Some are available on Netflix and can be purchased or rented from other streaming platforms while being available to subscribers through a number of other services.
The Conjuring (2013)
● Available on Netflix and HBO Max
The first Conjuring film introduces fans to the Warrens and tells of the Perron Family Haunting with Bathsheba Sherman.
This movie shows off a truly horrifying possession story that Ed and Lorraine Warren took part in and takes place in 1971, focussing on a big family that has moved into a secluded haunted house. The classic feel of the horror can be felt very strongly in the look of the movie beyond just the production design and fashion. The long single takes of sweeping camera movements quickly stood out as a signature style, being emulated in many of the spinoff movies.
Annabelle (2014)
● Available for purchase on Prime Video
Chronologically, the story of this film directly follows Annabelle: Creation and tells the story of a new mother and her baby being haunted by the doll. Mia, the mother, believes the doll to be possessed by a young woman who brutally murdered her parents one night before the birth of her child. The young woman was named Annabelle, and it was later revealed that Annabelle participated in devil worship and was attempting to summon a demon. It is later revealed that the demon attached to Annabelle (the doll) was looking to claim Mia's soul and would stop at nothing to get it.
After the events of the story, Annabelle is gifted to Debbie, a nursing student and one of the three people in the prologue of the film who sat with the Warrens, leading it back into the beginning of The Conjuring.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
● Available on Netflix and HBO Max
Arguably the best film in the Conjuring franchise, The Conjuring 2 is based on a real haunting, the Enfield Poltergeist, where a family is terrorized by the spirit of a man who lived and died in the house some before they moved in.
This film doesn't only focus on that spirit, however, and also introduces Valak, the demonic nun, and the famed Crooked Man, who is slated to receive his own spinoff movie at a later date.
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
● Available on HBO Max
This film is the second entry in the Annabelle spinoff series but its story is a prequel to the 2014 movie, delving deeper into the doll's origins and though the beginning of the film takes place before The Nun, the bulk of the movie takes place in 1955.
The story follows a group of orphan girls staying at a secluded home where they unearth the history of how and why the doll was made, as well as how and why it came to be possessed by a demon. It was a much bigger hit with both fans and critics than the original Annabelle movie, who appreciated the richer story and bigger scares.
The Nun (2018)
● Available for purchase on Prime Video
The Nun is the first story in the Conjuring universe timeline but one of the more recent in terms of release order. The film takes place in 1952 and stars Taissa Farmiga, Vera Farmiga's (Lorraine Warren) younger sister, in the lead role.
The demonic nun in this film, also known as Valak, has been teased in several other Conjuring films, including the length of The Conjuring 2 and during a post-credit scene in Annabelle: Creation. The film follows Father Burke and Sister Irene who travel to a convent in Romania after a nun dies under mysterious circumstances and they discover a sinister secret lurking beneath the ancient building.
The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)
● Available on DirecTV and Tru TV
The Curse of La Llorona is probably the biggest deviation from the main storyline within the Conjuring universe and is set in 1973, based on the titular folklore story.
La Llorona is popular in many cultures, each seeming to have its own rendition of the Woman in White tale. In this film, she is a murderous spirit overcome with guilt and regret and is constantly searching for new children to join her in the afterlife, coming across a struggling single social worker and her two kids. The Warrens don't feature at all in the movie and its only solid connection to the rest of the franchise is a brief appearance from the character of Father Perez, who first appeared in Annabelle.
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
● Available for purchase on Prime Video
In Annabelle Comes Home, the Warrens take the creepy doll home and lock it up in their occult museum seen in other films, which contains all of the dangerous artifacts from their cases.
After the Warrens leave their daughter, Judy, with a young babysitter while going on a trip, Annabelle manages to get out of their protective case and awake many of the items in the room, with the youngsters having to fight to get back control of the house and survive the night. It's a little more family-friendly, even Scooby-Doo-ish, for a Conjuring movie but an interesting deviation for the franchise.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
● Available for purchase on Prime Video
The most recent Conjuring looked into another real-life exorcism–and then murder–case that Ed and Lorraine Warren were involved in and eventually strays more into the franchise's first real look at occultism with a human antagonist.
It was the first of the mainline Conjuring movies to not be directed by James Wan, with it being helmed by La Llorona director Michael Chaves, and was less successful with critics fans than the first two installments whilst still being successful overall.