Next month, horror fans everywhere will finally get to see the much-anticipated third installment in The Conjuring film series. Since the first film in the seriesdebuted in 2013, the Conjuring franchise has expanded out from the main story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren to include spinoffs like Annabelle, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona.
But now, in conjunction with the release of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the horror universe is moving into a new frontier: Comics.
Announced by DC Comics last month as theflagship title in a new DC Horror imprint, The Conjuring: The Lover will give longtime fans and newcomers alike a new story that leads into the events of The Devil Made Me Do It, adding depth and context to the film while pushing The Conjuring universe into comics for the first time. Today, DC Comics released a creepy first look at this all-new story, and SYFY WIRE sat down with writers David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle to talk about how it all came together.
For Johnson-McGoldrick, who's scripted the last two Conjuring films, a project like The Lover presented an intriguing opportunity to flesh out The Devil Made Me Do It's main story, in which the Warrens encounter the real-life case of Arne Johnson, who was tried for murder in 1981 and claimed he was not guilty due to demonic possession. In The Lover, readers won't follow the Warrens, but they'llbe introduced to a college student named Jessica who comes to realize, amid all the other stresses of school and life, that something dark is hunting her. So, what does Jessica have to do with the Arne Johnson case?
"In the context of the film, Jessica's story is a precursor to what's happening to the main character, the cursed person in the film, Arne Johnson. All the things that are happening to Arne Johnson, they all happened in the past," Johnson-McGoldrick said, calling The Devil Made Me Do It a sort of "last chapter" to a bigger story. "They happened to this Jessica girl first, and so it really sets the table for what the stakes are for the film. If you were to go out to and read this comic book before you ever saw the movie, it would establish stakes. It would establish what's going to go wrong, if our heroes don't prevent this from happening to Arne."
While Johnson-McGoldrick emphasized that fans won't have to read the comic to understand the events of the film, he noted The Lover does create "another piece" of the overall mythology tied into The Devil Made Me Do It, and attentiveviewers will even be able to spot connections to Jessica in the film itself. Beyond that connective tissue in the plot, Johnson-McGoldrick and Ogle also faced the challenge of telling a Conjuring story which viewers have become so enamored with on the big screen in a new format for the first time. With that in mind, they had to boil down The Conjuring as a franchise to its essential elements, and translate them to the comics page alongside artist Garry Brown, whose creepy pencilsyou can check out in the gallery above.
"It's something that is scary, something that is good fun and something that kind of leaves you really kind of crawling underneath your skin," Ogle, whose past comics work includes Teen Titans and Death of Wolverine: Life After Logan, said. "I've seen the Conjuring movies so many times. My niece and nephew actually introduced them to me because they were such big fans. They saw them in the movie theater and they're like 'You have to watch them.' So of course I watched it with them and I was like 'Oh, this is so much fun.' This is something that's one of those things where you want to watch it in the dark and you want to be spooked by it, and it's even better because it's based on a true story."
Johnson-McGoldrick added, "I think the other piece of that, and I think Rex did a really good job of capturing it as well, is I feel like the Conjuring universe films tend to be also very character-driven, like right from the very first movie. I didn't have anything to do with that one, but I mean Ed and Lorraine, their characters, their marriage, their love is really front and center. Sometimes it feels to me like Conjuring movies are sort of like the supernatural almost becomes a manifestation of the strife that the characters are experiencing in real life. So [in The Lover] you introduce this character of Jessica who's having all these problems, cause she doesn't want to be away at school, and she has these secrets that she's keeping, and it's manifesting in our story as the supernatural element."
Though no other comics specific to The Conjuring universe have yet been announced, Johnson-McGoldrick and Ogle are very aware that The Lover is helping to launch a whole new wave of horror comics at DC that will continue with more still-unannounced DC Horror titles later this year. It all feels like a larger part of an overall boom in horror comics, and genre comics outside of superheroes in general, that they're pleased to be part of as both creators and readers.
"There's so many good comics out there right now. I just finished reading Gideon Falls over at Image, and it's just such a beautiful, well done horror comic," Ogle said. "For the last few decades, superheroes have been very prevalent, but now comics and graphic novels are opening up and people are realizing, 'Wow, we can tell all kinds of different stories again.' So we're having kind of a Renaissance, and it's just a really good time to tell new fun, original stories, and it's even better for me that they're going to be spooky."
The Conjuring: The Lover debuts June 1, just days beforeThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits theaters, and will run for five issues. Each issue will also feature a backup story that sheds light on an object from the Warrens' famous supernatural artifact room, beginning in issue #1 with a story from writer Scott Snyder and artist Denys Cowan.
Go here to read the rest:
Exclusive: DC's 'The Conjuring' comic writers on what it takes to bring the horror world from screen to page - SYFY WIRE
- Blumhouse to Return Insidious and Other Titles to Theaters for Halfway to Halloween Fest - Hollywood Reporter - March 16th, 2024
- Every Movie In The Wrong Turn Franchise Ranked - SlashFilm - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating 'Halfway to Halloween' With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- DeWanda Wise Sings Creepy Theme Of New Horror Film: 'Imaginary' - The Root - March 16th, 2024
- Hostel: Part II (2007) WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - March 16th, 2024
- New LEPRECHAUN Movie Will Be Funny, Scary And Full Of Practical Effects - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating Halfway to Halloween With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - IMDb - March 16th, 2024
- The Horror Nail-Biter On Max With A Controversial Ending - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- "Says the person who was in Madame Web": Sydney Sweeney is Getting Skewered for Saying Modern Horror Movies ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- First trailer for horror movie reboot The Crow features an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgrd on a bloody mission of revenge - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- You'll Never Find Me Is Unforgettable Horror, See The Terror In Action - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen star has seen all of your internet theories about the horror movie prequel and, well, they're all wrong - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Sltface take on horror movies with their new single, 'Final Grl' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- From 'Five Nights at Freddy's' to 'Imaginary': Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - theday.com - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen's Big Death Reveal Really Doesn't Bode Well For The Prequel - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies to Come Out in the Last 5 Years - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- 'The Animal Kingdom' Exclusive Clip Previews the Gnarly Body Horror of Magnet's New Movie - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- 'Oddity' Review: This Supernatural Horror Film Will Tear You To Pieces | SXSW 2024 - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- "Marketing is failing this movie tremendously": David Dastmalchian's Late Night With the Devil Dubbed as One of the ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- STOPMOTION is a handcrafted tale of beauty and horror - Moviejawn - March 16th, 2024
- Horror Lovers Will Love this Dining Spot in Texas - klaq.com - March 8th, 2024
- Is Late Night With The Devil Based On A True Story? - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Kooky King: 6 of the Weirdest Stephen King Film Adaptations - Nightmare on Film Street - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown, the Viral Willy Wonka Experience Villain, Is Already Getting Their Own Horror Movie - IGN - March 8th, 2024
- 13 Original Horror Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2024 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- From 'Imaginary' to 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - Los Angeles Times - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Movie Review: M3gan Meets The Boogeyman - Mama's Geeky - March 8th, 2024
- Christopher Nolan Originally Conceived Inception As A Horror Movie - SlashFilm - March 8th, 2024
- 'Whalefall' Movie in the Works From 'No One Will Save You' Director Brian Duffield - The Mary Sue - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based On THE UNKNOWN From Glasgow's WILLY WONKA Experience In The Works Horror Movie ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 8th, 2024
- Horrifying 'Late Night With The Devil' Trailer Released - Outkick - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary review: M3GAN, take the wheel - Dexerto - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown: Horror Movie Based on Unofficial Willy Wonka Experience Is in the Works - ComingSoon.net - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Film Review: Light on Frights - Loud And Clear Reviews - March 8th, 2024
- Dead Mail Directors on Their '80s Horror Influences - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- HORROR BEAT: Blumhouse offers a non-update on the future of THE EXORCIST - Comics Beat - March 8th, 2024
- And the Oscar for best picture doesn't go to ... horror! - NPR - March 8th, 2024
- Shaitaan OTT Release: When And Where To Watch R Madhavan And Ajay Devgn Starrer Horror Thriller Film - Indiatimes.com - March 8th, 2024
- The 'Wonka Experience' Is Being Turned Into A Horror Movie - UPROXX - March 8th, 2024
- 8 new horror movies on Netflix, Max, Shudder and more in March 2024 - TechRadar - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Horror Movies More Deserving of the Best Picture Oscar Than the Winner - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- The Horror Movie That Inspired 'The Shining' Actually Scared Stephen King - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- 10 Most Anticipated Movies Of March 2024 (According To Real Data) - IMDb - February 28th, 2024
- 10 Best Classic Horror Movies with No Oscar Nominations - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- THE WATCHERS Trailer Puts Voyeuristic Creatures in the Irish Woods - Nerdist - February 28th, 2024
- Christopher Nolan Originally Conceived 'Inception' as a Horror Film - IMDb - February 28th, 2024
- The Watchers trailer: Dakota Fanning is stalked by the unknown - BGR - February 28th, 2024
- This Czech Horror Film Turns the Terror of 'The Zone of Interest' Into Weird Comedy - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- The Jennifer Lopez Horror Movie That's More Interesting Than It Seems - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- This '90s Kids Movie Is the Grossest Flick of All-Time - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- Eli Roth's Big 2024 Movie Couldn't Be More Different Than His Thanksgiving Horror Hit - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- How The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher filled a void in US cinema - Post Magazine - February 28th, 2024
- 'Stopmotion' Review This Hand-Crafted Horror Film Is One of a Kind - Collider - February 28th, 2024
- 10 Tasty Horror Movies (Including Thanksgiving) Streaming on Netflix - Gizmodo - February 28th, 2024
- They Did the Mash, They Did the Monster Mash: 10 Epic Horror Crossovers You Can't Miss! - Nightmare on Film Street - February 28th, 2024
- 20 movies that mostly take place in one location - Yardbarker - February 28th, 2024
- Scream: What Happened To Jenna Ortega's Character? - GameRant - February 28th, 2024
- One of 2024's most anticipated horror sequels finally gets a promising update, as director teases "weird idea" for fourth ... - Gamesradar - February 28th, 2024
- DYK This Christopher Nolan Classic Was Conceived As A Horror Film? - Republic World - February 28th, 2024
- New Paranormal Activity Video Game Revealed by the Mortuary Assistant Team - Beebom - February 28th, 2024
- 10 Best Cult Classics of the 1970s, Ranked - Collider - February 19th, 2024
- 51 Best Horror Movies Of All Time That Are Suitably Spooky - GLAMOUR UK - February 19th, 2024
- M. Night Shyamalan's Horror Movie From 8 Years Ago Is More Impressive Based On Its Budget Record - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- 10 Horror Movie Monsters That Were Way Scarier Without CGI - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- 10 Most Anticipated Horror Movies Releasing in 2024 - IMDb - February 19th, 2024
- Top 30 best horror movies of all time - Dexerto - February 19th, 2024
- Sting Trailer Releases Spider Movie into the Horror Comedy World - MovieWeb - February 19th, 2024
- Trailer For The Survival Horror Movie THE WOODS ARE REAL GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - February 19th, 2024
- The horror movies that inspired Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn' - Far Out Magazine - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Body Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - February 19th, 2024
- Hunter Schafer Responds To Scream Queen Compliment As Horror Debut Cuckoo Premieres In Berlin: I Love Horror Movies and Screaming Is Really Fun -... - February 19th, 2024
- The Horror Movie That Terrified Martin Scorsese and Guillermo del Toro - Collider - February 19th, 2024
- Where To Watch Thanksgiving On Streaming - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- The Correct Order To Watch The Amityville Horror Movies - SlashFilm - February 19th, 2024
- New Jordan Peele movie set to be released in 2025 - Dexerto - February 19th, 2024
- The real-life haunting of Ti West and 'The Innkeepers' - Far Out Magazine - February 19th, 2024
- Trailer For Werewolf Film Blackout Puts The Monster Front & Center - 411mania.com - February 19th, 2024
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Had the Production From a Nightmare - IMDb - February 19th, 2024
- 65 Years Ago, a Legendary Director Invented a Terrifying New Trick And Launched a Trendy Gimmick - Inverse - February 19th, 2024
- Cuckoo Review: Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens Keep You Glued Even When This Reproductive Horror Careens Off the Rails - Hollywood Reporter - February 19th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero