STACK #203 Sep 2021

FILM FEATURE

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THE WARREN FILES

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL STACK chats with PatrickWilson and Vera Farmiga about their return as paranormal investigators Ed and LorraineWarren in The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It . Words Gill Pringle

THE CONJURING The Warrens’ investigation of a haunted farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971 determined that the house, occupied by the Perron family, had once belonged to a witch who took her own life in 1863, cursing all who would claim her land.

THE CONJURING 2 The Warrens had just wrapped up a job in Amityville when they received a call to look into paranormal activity occurring in the North London suburb of Enfield – a case that made headlines in 1977 as “The Enfield Poltergeist”.

ANNABELLE COMES HOME A Raggedy Ann doll, supposedly possessed by the spirit of a deceased girl named Annabelle, wound up in the Warrens’ ‘Occult Museum’ in 1970. The Annabelle doll inspired three spin-off films in the Conjuring Universe, including an origin

H aving played married couple Ed and Lorraine Warren four times over the last decade, it’s little surprise that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson finish each other’s sentences. Not that you could describe the real Ed and Lorraine Warren as any ordinary husband and wife, given that they became America’s most famous paranormal investigators during the course of their 61-year marriage, which only ended with Ed’s death in 2006. The stories of ghosts and hauntings popularised by the Warrens have been adapted as – or indirectly inspired – dozens of films, TV series and documentaries, including several films in The Amityville Horror series and, perhaps more famously, in the films of James Wan’s The Conjuring Universe – officially now the largest horror franchise in film history, grossing more than US$1.8 billion worldwide. Chatting with Farmiga and Wilson about the third Conjuring film, The Devil Made Me Do It , their genuine affection shines through. “It’s amazing growing older with my fake spouse,” Farmiga tells STACK . “At the risk of sounding corny, my love for old Patrick Wilson continues to run feverish. I adore him. We are such good friends. We mitigate the dark, emotional work that we do by laughing our heads off together.” “We’ve trusted each other since day one,” adds Wilson, “that’s where

the chemistry comes from. We’re totally comfortable with each other and we have a lot of fun.” The Conjuring 3 takes its story from one of the most sensational cases in the Warren files, starting with a fight for the soul of a young boy and marking the first time in US history that a murder suspect would claim demonic

story. The Warrens feature prominently in the third film, Annabelle Comes Home .

countertops, or who knows what,” Farmiga reveals. “But I can tell you that in terms of like darkly mystical, demonic negative forces in my life? I would like to think that I am able to bubble-wrap myself with positivity and with goodness and protection that I know I have. So I don’t invite it into my life, and therefore I don’t necessarily experience anything so profoundly nerve-wracking in a way that obviously the Warrens do in this film.” Likewise, Wilson will admit to a few

possession as a defence. It also reveals how the Warrens first fell in love when they were teenagers, their younger selves portrayed by Megan Ashley Brown and Mitchell Hoog. “That’s one of my favourite parts

• The Conjuring 3 is out on Sept 1

spooky experiences of his own: “The few unexplained things that have happened to me or to other people in my house… I mean I’m a big believer in there being other forces at play. But, like Vera, I don’t allow the negative ones in. “And I will say, over the years, anything paranormal doesn’t freak me out or scare me anymore. And I may be completely ignorant in saying this, but I feel like I can handle it. I would just calm myself and ask Vera to come over if there was a problem,” he laughs.

of the film,” says Farmiga. “Mitchell is just uncanny the way he’s just got Patrick’s smile. These kids knocked it out of the park. For the Warrens, that teen love was real.” After years of playing the Warrens, clairvoyants and demonologists who have witnessed things that would send most people over the edge, Farmiga and Wilson have surprised themselves by becoming at ease with this creepy universe. “There are certainly things that I’ve experienced, whether it’s cups flying off

MERCH MONTH of the

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