The Conjuring Universe Ranking - Saying Goodbye to a Haunting Horror Legacy
Horror franchises are rarely built like this – over twelve years, The Conjuring Universe has delivered not just scares, but a sustained narrative about love, fear, family, and what lurks in the darkness of belief. With The Conjuring: Last Rites now behind us and this universe having come to its conclusion, it's time to look back, assess every chapter, and ask: which ones endure, and which ones are best left in ghost stories?
So here’s my ranking of all eleven films, from the least effective to the ones that lingered longest – not simply by their jump scares, but by what they say about us, about fear, and about human resilience in the face of the most terrifying darkness.
11. Wolves at the Door (2016)
There’s no soft way to say it: this entry was an absolute failure. Its attempt to exploit a real-life tragedy wasn’t just uncomfortable, it felt overtly exploitative. Moments of genuine emotional resonance exist due to some strong performances, but they are overwhelmed by the sensational nature of the story being told. This is horror that leaned so far into shock that it forgot the human heart.
10. The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
Linda Cardellini is a bright spot in a film that otherwise relies almost exclusively on cheap scare tactics. Its folkloric roots promised something rich, but ultimately, it offered few surprises, and the spiritual weight was too thin to carry the film’s own ghostly ambitions.
9. The Nun (2018)
Gothic aesthetics and eerie set designs gave The Nun occasional power, but the story drifted into fantastical Catholic mythology without enough logic or character. When the visuals were strong, they evoked dread, but whenever the plot wandered, credibility slipped away.
8. Annabelle (2014)
Don’t get me wrong, the Annabelle doll’s lore is intriguing. Some sequences deliver. But compared with its peers, this film was formulaic. The tension was too often predictable, and too often derived from props instead of people.
7. The Nun II (2023)
It’s here, at #7 and above out of 11, that the films really start to get good. The Nun II improved upon its predecessor: better atmosphere, more effective scares, and more investment in character depth.
6. Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Here’s one that will always sit with the people who are creeped out by dolls. This origin story of Annabelle gave us strong storytelling and dread-inducing atmosphere that recalled some of the sharper moments of The Conjuring itself. Doll-creepy elegance, compelling backstory, and enough moral weight that the scares land with consequence made this a more-than-satisfying entry in the franchise.
5. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
This felt less like Annabelle 3 and more like The Conjuring 1.5, and that’s not a complaint. It centered Judy Warren and firmly established her trauma for her later expanded role in Last Rites, and it’s a choice that added emotional stakes. The Warrens’ Museum is a smart conceit, a rich playground of spiritual dread. This film’s heart is strong, and its scares are well-earned.
4. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
As the finale, Last Rites does the job many feared it couldn’t: it ties together emotional threads, brings the Warrens’ journey to a graceful close, and reminds us why we’ve cared. Its pacing isn’t flawless; it leans into sentimentality. But seeing Lorraine and Ed Warren in their most vulnerable mode – acknowledging their fears and making peace with past failures – gives this universe a send-off richer than most genre films ever hope to earn.
3. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Here’s a curveball: instead of another haunting, this film gives us a human nemesis. There’s something dynamic about the Warrens being confronted not just by demons, but by occultism, greed, and human agency. Chaves takes risks, and while it wandered at times, it broadened the scope of what this franchise can be. It injected moral ambiguity in a way that scares almost more than ghosts.
2. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Often in horror sequels, the friction is lost; here, friction is everything. James Wan returns to the Warrens with deeper tension, and he never lets us settle. The dread is both compelling and uncomfortable. It doesn’t repeat the original; it expands it, and in doing so thoroughly earns its place on this ranking.
1. The Conjuring (2013)
This is the benchmark. Wan’s directorial precision – the way he built dread with shadows and sound – remains unmatched. The performances (especially Lili Taylor) ground the paranormal in grief, in belief, and in terror of the unknown. It remains not just the best Conjuring film, but one of the great modern horror films. It created the universe, set the standard, and remains its heart.
Final Thoughts
The Conjuring Universe may now have ended (aside from the rumors of an HBO Max series continuation), but these films proved that even after more than a decade, a horror franchise can evolve – and themes of trauma, loss, love, and sacrifice will always have power.
Some entries will fade and become nostalgic curiosities, but others will haunt us. But endings are harder than beginnings, and Last Rites stands tall enough that I believe this franchise ends, for now, not with a whimper, but with resolve. The Conjuring Universe may have lasted for only twelve years, but this epic saga and its fictional version of the Warrens will be remembered fondly.