Wan takes nearly an hour before the full possession kicks in. He lets the Crooked Man rhyme, lets the chair stack itself, lets Janet Hodgson (a terrifyingly good Madison Wolfe) speak in that guttural old-man voice for minutes before anyone believes her.
While the 2021 The Conjuring 3 (directed by Michael Chaves, not Wan) leaned into courtroom drama and a less memorable villain, the 2016 film gave us a villain with rules. Valak fears the name of God. It twists scripture. It makes Patrick Wilson’s Ed Warren sing Elvis to fight back. The Conjuring 2 -2016 2021
In an era of jump-scare compilations and “five nights at Freddy’s” quick hits, The Conjuring 2 is a slow-burn epic. At 134 minutes, it’s nearly a crime drama with ghosts. And it works because Wan understands that dread is a marathon, not a sprint. By the time The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It arrived in theaters and on HBO Max in June 2021, the franchise had become a machine. But The Conjuring 2 remains the heart of the engine. Wan takes nearly an hour before the full possession kicks in
That scene—Ed strumming “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as the house crumbles—was mocked in 2016. By 2021, fans rightly called it the most emotional, unique exorcism scene ever filmed. Looking back from the perspective of a world deep into pandemic streaming, The Conjuring 2 offered something the 2021 sequel didn’t: patience . Valak fears the name of God
The Crooked Man will thank you. And if you hear knocking from the walls tonight? Don’t answer. Just put on some Elvis. What’s your favorite scene from The Conjuring 2? Still scared of the Nun? Drop a comment below—just don’t say her name three times.