Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the latest addition to the Conjuring saga. One of the most successful horror franchises in recent times, it comes with its fair share of screams and chills.
Although you can watch all the movies by themselves, the fun part is how small titbits and snippets connect the films together.
The Conjuring Universe’s latest installment, The Devil Made Me Do It is part of the main Conjuring canon. This means that it revolves around a case handled by Ed and Lorraine Warren. Moreover, it has connections to the Annabelle films as well!
The three Conjuring films from the main canon are related to the three Annabelle films that center around a possessed doll of the same name.
However, there are a lot of spin-offs and side stories that are also part of the same universe. Much like the superhero universes from DC and Marvel, horror films are in their own league to create franchises as well.
As of now, there are three films centering around Annabelle:
- Annabelle (2014)
- Annabelle: Creation (2017)
- Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Though the first two films released after The Conjuring, both are prequels to it. Annabelle: Creation is set before Annabelle, which is chronologically followed by The Conjuring. Allow us to make things a bit clearer.
1. Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle
The motive of Annabelle: Creation is to explain how Annabelle the doll gets possessed in the first place. It is essentially a film designed to connect several dots throughout the franchise and set the stage up for The Nun—another prequel.
Set in 1955, Annabelle: Creation begins when Samuel and Esther Mullins lose their daughter Annabelle in a fatal car accident in 1943.
Unable to face losing their daughter, the couple makes a pact with a demon, whom they believe to be their daughter, to possess the doll, Annabelle.
In the film, we meet Janice, one of six orphan girls living in the Mullins household, who later forms a bond with the possessed doll. This explains how Creation is a prequel to Annabelle that released earlier, but whose events are set after the ending of Annabelle: Creation.
Janice is possessed by the demonic spirit. She later changes her name to Annabelle and gets adopted by the Higgins family. This successfully connects it to the previously released Annabelle.
Watch Annabelle: Creation at https://www.primevideo.com/dp/amzn1.dv.gti.b4b13a20-f0b0-73b8-03e3-444b43ed0dbb?autoplay=1&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb
2. Annabelle and The Conjuring
Annabelle: Creation then jumps 12 years into the future, and we see the prologue of Annabelle, set in 1967. We witness the satanic cult killings kickstart Annabelle, and the Form family, the protagonists of the movie, is introduced.
The Satanic cult that Janice (possessed by Annabelle) belongs to is called The Disciples of the Ram. Now, in the latest Conjuring film, we are introduced to Kastner (played by John Noble) who was instrumental in bringing down the Satanic cult.
This way, we can connect Annabelle with The Devil Made Me Do It. But this is not the end of the references, because there is more to come.
Annabelle, in turn, is set four years before The Conjuring and focuses on Mia and John Form. The couple encounters the doll who’s eager for a human conduit, and this sets in motion the events that ruin their lives.
It’s important to note that Annabelle begins with the death of Annabelle Higgins (Janice from Annabelle: Creation). Her death takes place in the proximity of the Forms’ doll and thus begins all the trouble.
The Forms consult the church and an exorcism seems to be the only option. This efficiently connects Annabelle with the Warrens—the protagonists of The Conjuring.
If you follow carefully, Father Perez even makes a quick reference to the Warrens (not by name) as one of his solutions to the Annabelle problem. Smooth connection there.
In The Conjuring, we meet Ed and Lorraine Warren for the first time when they show up to help the Perron family after the supernatural events around them. Set in 1971, The Conjuring is pretty much your regular horror film.
It focuses on a haunted house and its residents. This is also the first film in the canon going by the release dates of the films and the subsequent films connect to it either earlier or later in the timeline.
3. The Conjuring Universe Entire Timeline Explained
Clearly, the films have not released in chronological order of the events.
The makers probably did not have a whole universe in mind when they made The Conjuring back in 2013. But efficient storytelling and clever anecdotes are what successfully connect the films together. The order here is in accordance with the events of the films, not in order of commercial release.
Let’s start from the beginning. Surprisingly enough, The Nun is the correct starting point. The earliest chapter in The Conjuring Universe is set in 1952 in Romania.
Following the events of The Nun is Annabelle: Creation, set in 1955, which explains the origin story of Annabelle, the doll that quickly became a sensation. Following that, there is Annabelle, set in 1967.
Annabelle is followed by The Conjuring, set in the year 1971. Then, Annabelle Comes Home is set somewhere between the events of The Conjuring and Conjuring 2, set around 1971-1972.
Annabelle Comes Home is set right after the Warrens gain possession of the cursed doll from Debbie, the nursing student. Following the third Annabelle film, one can include The Curse Of La Llorona, which till now has the least connection to the universe. Yet, I am including it because it is instrumental in putting forward some details of the characters in the universe.
The most important connection in the film is that Tony Amendola returns, reprising his role from Annabelle as Father Perez. Perez uses his experience with Annabelle the doll to prepare Anna Tate-Garcia for the spirit that has attached herself to her family.
Finally, the last two films of the universe as of now are The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The second Conjuring film is set around 1976-77, while The Devil Made Me Do It is set in 1981. It follows the same timeline as the incident which inspired the film.
So, if you’re gearing up for a rewatch of the saga, keep the order in line and don’t forget to keep the lights on. Trust me, do not ignore the free advice.
4. How Is Annabelle Connected to The Nun?
The Nun is set in 1952 and sets the stage well for the events that follow. Director Corin Hardy had written the film to be a sort of origin, or the starting point, for all the evil stuff that follows in the rest of the movies.
Basically, The Nun explores the origin and growth of The Conjuring’s ultimate evil spirit, Valak. After a nun commits suicide at the Abbey of St. Carta, people are scared that Valak and his evil powers are involved.
The film opens with a clip of Valak’s damage, along with Lorraine Warren’s voiceover from The Conjuring 2.
The Nun’s motive is to dig into the individual or the ultimate reason that is responsible for beginning all the supernatural trouble in the film saga, along with the mystery behind the summoning of Valak and other demons.
After it seems as though Sister Irene and company have defeated Valak, The Nun reveals that they were unsuccessful. The film also jumps to 1977, when the Warrens’ “three stages of possession” lecture took place (a reference to The Conjuring 2).
It is clear that the Warrens face Valak much earlier than they thought they did. A sequel to The Nun is also in talks and will presumably be set after the events of The Nun and before Annabelle: Creation.
5. What Order Should You Be Watching the Films?
To be honest, it does not really matter if you do not follow the timeline of the events chronologically. The films themselves did not release in the same order and hence can very well be watched as standalone horror films.
Although if you really want to do everything right, you can check out this quick and easy watch order that we made for The Conjuring Universe.
- The Nun (2018)
- Annabelle: Creation (2017)
- Annabelle (2014)
- The Conjuring (2013)
- Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
- The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
6. About The Conjuring Universe
The Conjuring Universe is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of supernatural horror films, produced by New Line Cinema, the Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The films present a dramatization of the supposed real-life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting.
The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves possessed by demonic spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have encountered.
No Comments on The Connection Between ‘Annabelle’ and the ‘Conjuring’ Films