The Nun II, the new instalment in the Nun franchise and the latest in the Conjuring universe is now playing in theatres. Director Michael Chaves looks back at the universe, and specifically, The Nun.

MEMORIES OF THE CONJURING

I remember it vividly. I saw it in a theatre by myself in Pasadena. I remember I saw a lot of the ads and the clap game, and I just thought: ‘Okay, this looks so up my alley, this looks so much fun.’

I had been directing commercials and also making short films and I had wanted to do a haunted house story for a long time. And after seeing The Conjuring, I was like: ‘Oh, I could never do anything as awesome as that.’ I was so humbled. And I think a year went by and I kept thinking: ‘I still feel like I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to make an attempt.’ It eventually inspired me to do The Maiden, a short film about a real estate agent who tries to sell a haunted house.

I always loved the dark humour of that idea, but I wanted it to be really scary, and to be built around these scary set pieces, and I was incredibly inspired by The Conjuring.

IMPACT OF THE CONJURING

I think it’s had such a huge impact on probably every other horror film-maker out there, and I think even filmmakers outside of the genre. I see these amazing independent films that are dramas, that are using techniques that I saw James (Wan) break out in that film. I think that the effects of that have rippled through the industry. The honour of getting pulled into La Llorona, which was kind of Conjuring adjacent in terms of the universe it inhabited, and then being offered Conjuring 3…. Those were probably the biggest moments in my life, apart from having my kids.

APPEARANCE OF THE DEMON NUN IN THE CONJURING UNIVERSE

The first time I saw her was in the trailer and I just thought it was so captivating and so iconic, and I honestly fell in love with her. I was so captivated because it felt like James created this iconic character, this iconic monster.

WATCHING THE NUN

It’s such a big, bold step outside of the traditional Conjuring universe; up to that point, nearly every story had been in the US, nearly every story was very American. And the idea of taking this to Europe was a really exciting big swing. I think that it tested the boundaries of what makes a Conjuring movie... that these really can spread across the world and that by doing so, it opens up the possibilities.