Question: As you know, this summer marks the 10th anniversary of The Conjuring, the film that started it all, beginning the massively successful franchise that has followed and is still going strong. Looking back as a fan, do you remember seeing that first film and what you thought about James Wan and Peter Safran’s creation?
Michael Chaves: Absolutely. I remember it vividly. I saw it in a theater by myself in Pasadena, and I think it was a matinee showing and it had been out for a couple of weeks and I had been busy. I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier, but I remember I saw a lot of the ads and the clap game, and I just thought, “Okay, this looks so up my alley, this looks so much fun.” And I remember seeing it and it was just awesome. It was a matinee and so it wasn’t a fully packed house, but even within that, you felt this incredible energy from the audience. And I usually like going to opening nights or I love going opening weekend because you have that energy of the audience.
And I felt like that, even in a matinee, it was so supercharged, and it almost made me feel envious of all the people who saw it opening night because you could just imagine the energy in that theater! And then I brought my wife to see it and she loved it. And I remember we were just so supercharged about it because we both grew up loving horror movies. I think that just seeing something that really rekindled that, and did it so well, was really awesome.
Question: Do you think seeing The Conjuring inspired you, professionally?
Michael Chaves: I had been directing commercials and also making short films and I had wanted to do a haunted house story for a long time. And after seeing The Conjuring, I was actually like, “Oh, I could never do anything as awesome as that.” [LAUGHS] I was so humbled. I was like, “I got to just take that off my to-do list because no one will ever match how amazing that film is.” And I think a year went by and I kept thinking, “I still feel like I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to make an attempt.” And it eventually inspired me to do The Maiden, which is this short film I did about this real estate agent that tries to sell a haunted house.
I always loved the dark humor of that idea, but I wanted it to be really scary, and to be built around these scary set pieces, and I was incredibly inspired by The Conjuring. I even showed it as a reference to my DP! I said, “We need to be constructing scares that are this great and tension-building,” and we used it as a reference. It has had such a big impact on me.
I think it’s also had such a huge impact on probably every other horror filmmaker out there, and I think even filmmakers outside of the genre—I see these amazing independent films that are dramas, that are using techniques that I saw James break out in that film. I think that the effects of that have rippled through the industry. The honor of getting pulled into La Llorona, which was kind of Conjuring adjacent in terms of the universe it inhabited, and then being offered Conjuring 3… Those were probably the biggest moments in my life, apart from having my kids.
It was so humbling and so awesome, and I’ve been just thrilled to be a part of what I believe is honestly one of the best cinematic universes out there and definitely the best horror universe that’s ever been created.
Question: When you first saw what was essentially a cameo, let’s call it, by Annabelle in The Conjuring, in that prologue, as a young filmmaker did it occur to you that they should do more with that doll?
Michael Chaves: What struck me was the artifact room. When I saw that, it actually reminded me first of Indiana Jones, where the Ark of the Covenant gets kind of shelved away.
Question: In a warehouse full of huge crates…
Michael Chaves: Right! So, in The Conjuring, to see this couple having this artifact room in their basement, it was like that. And I had heard of the Warrens, though I didn’t know much about them, so the idea that they had this occult museum, this artifact museum, was really fascinating. I think that it also reminded me of Ray Bradbury—there was an old Ray Bradbury TV show where he had all of these trinkets around, and that was kind of the framing device of the little individual anthology shows. This reminded me of that, which felt really folksy and nostalgic, but also creepy at the same time.
So, it wasn’t just the Annabelle doll, I remember thinking, “Oh my God, anything in there is a story.” There were so many amazing things in there and so much potential. My imagination was really activated.
Question: And similarly with the Demon Nun, do you remember the first time she appeared in the films and did that image stay with you in any way?
Michael Chaves: Oh yeah, 100%. I mean, the first time I saw her was in the ads, in the trailer, and I just thought it was so captivating and so iconic, and I honestly fell in love with her. I thought that she was just great. I was so captivated because it felt like James created this iconic character, this iconic monster.
Question: James has an interesting way of taking what should be the most innocuous item in your house, like a doll, or in your life, like a lovely nun, and turning it into this completely other thing. So, what was your experience as a moviegoer watching The Nun?
Michael Chaves: I thought Corin [Hardy] did a fantastic job with that movie. It’s such a big, bold step outside of the traditional Conjuring Universe; up to that point, nearly every story had been in the U.S., nearly every story was very American. And the idea of taking this to Europe was a really exciting big swing. They shot in what was Dracula’s castle or the legend of Dracula’s castle, I’m not too sure exactly the details of it, but that was a huge swing, and I think he just did a great job with the atmosphere, and it was such an exciting take on a film. I think that it tested the boundaries of what makes a Conjuring movie, that these aren’t just always American-centric. That these really can spread across the world and that by doing so, it opens up the possibilities.
Question: An observation you undoubtedly made when you directed The Devil Made Me Do It, the third Conjuring film. Ed and Lorraine Warren are wonderfully played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Why do you think they are such compelling characters in this universe and in the genre, the horror/supernatural genre? Because you don’t always connect to a set of characters as much as monsters in this genre.
Michael Chaves: Yeah, absolutely. I think the success of the Warrens is that they feel like family. And I think that feeling of family, the idea of family is what is so core to The Conjuring movies. It’s so core to the storytelling. For a lot of people, especially young people, The Conjuring films are their first entry into horror films, their first glimpse of a horror film. Maybe it’s what they saw at a sleepover. And in so many ways, I think that there is something about Patrick and Vera and the way that they’ve created these characters that, especially for these young people, they almost feel like they could be their parents, and there’s something really comforting about that. Beyond that, they’re just a couple that you love to root for. They really are relatable and intelligent and warm. And that’s, I think, the characters that we’re all drawn to.
Question: Looking back at these films that have comprised this more than $2 billion franchise, do you have some favorite moments, and why do you think fans keep coming back for more?
Michael Chaves: I think I have a favorite moment from each one of the movies. I think that the first film is just filled with them. I love the clap game and I think the clap game should go down in AFI’s greatest scenes in history. It should be up there with just the most classic moments. I think that same thing with Conjuring 2, the painting scene is just incredibly iconic.
I’m also really proud of the opening exorcism in The Devil Made Me Do It. That’s the scene that I’ve heard from so many people that they were just really genuinely scared of, and it really had an impact on them. Yeah, I think that’s what’s great about The Conjuring movies, each one has something that’s iconic and it sticks with you.
