Based on a True Story...But Who Cares?
The film industry has long had a rather turbulent relationship with true stories. You’ve all seen the infamous “based on a true story” tagline and probably shrugged your shoulders at it. You can find these films in practically any genre with one of my favorite examples occurring in the horror genre. Any kid that grew up in the 90s will likely remember the hoopla surrounding the release of The Blair Witch Project. I still have a very clear memory of the first time I heard about it, which was through my older brother who, as older brothers are wont to do, had a tendency to tease me. This time, he was telling my poor, naïve younger self that there was a documentary coming out about a real witch that snuck into a village and kidnapped their children. Of course, they were never seen again… As we all know, The Blair Witch Project isn’t really based on a true story and, contrary to the claims of the excellent marketing campaign, was entirely fictional. However, there are many films even in the horror genre that attempt to strike a balance between being fictional and being based on reality. Of these many, the two that I want to focus on the ones based on the adventures of the real life Warrens, The Conjuring 1 and 2.
Ed and Lorraine Warren were a married couple who also happened to be paranormal investigators and have been associated with some of the most famous paranormal incidents of the last century including the Amityville haunting and the Enfield poltergeist. Ed himself was a self-taught demonologist while Lorraine claims to be a clairvoyant, as in someone who is able to gain information through extrasensory perception. Putting aside belief in the paranormal, the Warrens have been criticized for exploiting these situations for their own personal gain. As Ed himself says on their charmingly outdated website, “They said, ‘Ed Warren wants to be written up in newspapers, he wants to have books and movies. He wants to be exposed to the public” because he insisted on having people from the media come with them claiming that he wanted to “expose the devil and expose evil.” In addition, people accused them of profiting from these events but Ed responded by saying “we don’t get any easy money and the money we get we deserve and we don’t charge for our services.”
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In any event, there are two issues at heart here regarding the authenticity of these stories: the truthfulness of the Warrens and the truthfulness of the actual paranormal activity. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly where I fall regarding both of these but consider me skeptical. To be even more honest, what the hell does it even matter?
When the second Conjuring film came out, I listened to people criticize the movie for not mentioning the possibility of the Warrens being conmen or frauds. Even people who generally liked the movie found this to be a valid criticism of the film itself but it is honestly irrelevant regarding these movies. Let me explain beyond “it doesn’t matter.”
The Conjuring films are, first and foremost, horror films. They are not documentaries and are not obliged to cover all of the facts even if they are “based on a true story.” Although these movies are based on supposedly real hauntings, their goal isn’t to give you both sides of the tale. Their goal is to scare the living daylights out of you and they’re really good at doing that. The director, James Wan (Saw, Insidious), shows a clear understanding of what makes a horror movie effective. Some might argue that his films are derivative of older horror films but it makes a world of difference when he actually understands the language of an effective horror film. He doesn’t have a jump scare every other minute, complete with an artificial loud sound. Every jump scare sound comes from within the film world itself, not from the film soundtrack, and he also knows how to make them all the more effective by building tension. There’s a good amount of time in the beginning of both films where he is simply building up tension without a single jump scare disrupting it. Now, imagine if all of this expertly crafted tension were broken up with “oh, btw, this might not have actually happened.” Wan knows what to sacrifice in terms of reality in order to craft an effective film.
Going back to the Warrens, I argue that this also applies to their depiction in the films. There is never any doubt regarding the authenticity of the Warrens in the film. They are our protagonists and, this is going to sound a lot more sappy then I intend it to sound, their love for each other is the heart of both films. The chemistry between the two stars, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, is palpable and feels incredibly genuine, adding a human touch to films about paranormal disturbances. They are our heroes. They’re the ones we root for and it’s not just because that’s what the script demands, it’s because Wan actually makes us care about them. As funny as this may sound to say, there’s actually a heartwarming scene amidst all of the horror in The Conjuring 2 where Ed takes out an acoustic guitar and plays Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” to the family of children that they’re there to help as Lorraine silently watches him from afar. You can sense the love she feels for him and the fear that she might lose him. It’s a scene that sounds corny but ends up feeling so genuine because we care about these characters.
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Now, imagine if this same scene were surrounded by moments hinting or downright showing that the Warrens are actually be frauds. How can you root for characters that are possibly exploiting a scared family? Or, hell, how can you root for them even if they’re helping the family exploit others. It changes the film entirely and that’s why I say “it doesn’t matter” if someone brings up the authenticity of the real-life Warrens while discussing The Conjuring films. There is certainly an interesting story to be had there, but that question is completely irrelevant to the stories in these films. In these films, the Warrens are the heart at the center, and I don’t think they would work half as well if Wan hadn’t expertly made it so.
It’s possible to enjoy a film depicting the Warrens as genuinely good people trying to help others, while also being skeptical of the real-life Warrens. There are interesting stories to be told in both cases, but if you are criticizing The Conjuring for not covering this aspect of the Warrens, then you are criticizing The Conjuring for not being a different movie all-together.
