The Conjuring 3 Director Says It’s the “Biggest” and “Darkest” Chapter in the Franchise

The Conjuring surely didn’t invent the haunted house subgenre, but many contemporary horror fans would argue that it came close to perfecting the formula, but director Michael Chaves recently teased that the upcoming The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the “biggest” and “darkest” entry into the franchise yet. Based not only on the proper Conjuring franchise, but also its various spinoffs and sequels, the franchise has covered some truly frightening ground, so for this new film to be taking terror to all-new heights makes it a promising tease for longtime fans. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits theaters and HBO Max on June 4th.

“In a lot of ways, this is the biggest Conjuring movie,” Chaves confirmed with IGN. “I showed the final cut to [star] Vera [Farmiga] and her husband and they agreed, and they were like, ‘This is the darkest Conjuring movie.’ It digs into some really dark material. This is definitely a case where there’s real consequence, there’s real victims.”

Much like the first two The Conjuring films, the events of The Devil Made Me Do It are inspired by the actual cases that Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated. This upcoming sequel focuses on a man who claimed in court that the reason he killed his landlord was because he was possessed by demons.

“One of the things that [series creator] James [Wan] and I connected on while making The Curse of La Llorona was sharing a lot of the same favorite movies, and one of them is Se7en,” Chaves teased of the new film. “We both love that movie, and so when he came to me with this script, he basically was like, ‘It’s Se7en, but in the Conjuring universe.’ And he knew that was like catnip for me.”

Chaves continued, “This is really taking the Warrens into uncharted places. Being a fan of the franchise, I was honestly really nervous at first breaking with convention, breaking with a lot of things that are tradition, but I think that what we’ve done is really woven the language and the things that you do want from a Conjuring film — the scares, the Warrens, their relationship — and [pushed them] to the limits in this really fresh and exciting new direction.”

Stay tuned for details on The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It before it hits theaters and HBO Max on June 4th.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!