Now Streaming: Michael Chaves' CONJURING Universe Horror

This week sees the release of The Conjuring: Last Rites, the ninth and final (?!) film in the series of supernatural horror thrillers that began with James Wan's The Conjuring in 2013.

The original film, written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, spawned two direct sequels -- The Conjuring 2 (2016), directed by James Wan, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), directed by Michael Chaves, who also helms The Conjuring: Last Rites. (See trailer below; it opens Friday. Here's the official site for locations and showtimes.)

The original also inspired a prequel, a prequel to the prequel, and a third film, all revolving around demon doll Annabelle, as well as The Nun and its sequel The Nun II, both revolving around a demonic hooded figure, the latter directed by Michael Chaves.

Chaves' identity has been built on the so-called Conjuring Universe, but that's not all he's done. Born in Southern California, according to his official site, he's also directed short films -- including The Maiden, which is available to watch on Vimeo and is pretty freaky and scary, and a Billie Elish music video that successfully incorporates horror movie vibes into a pop song.

His feature career began with a thriller from producer James Wan that was torn from the pages of Mexican folklore.

The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
The film is now streaming on HBO Max.

Linda Cardellini stars as a recently widowed mother of two who inadvertently unleashes the horrors of hell in the person of the ghostly La Llorona.

Our reviewer, J Hurtado, was not impressed. Not at all: "Perhaps the most aggressive of the films in the Conjuring-verse, The Curse of La Llorona abandons all of the inherent compelling pathos of the original folk story at this point to turn the film into a supernatural home invasion story. ... The Curse of La Llorona is a cheap attempt to capture a minority audience with a familiar folk tale that then bait-and-switches that audience into watching a regular-ass spook story with accents."

(Note from editor: Hey, I've never said that everything was going to be positive in these weekly roundups!)

Surely, Michael Chaves would do better with his sophomore feature.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
The film is now streaming on HBO Max.

In the third direct installment, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as Ed and Lorraine Warren in their eternal battle against eternal evil that refuses to stay dead.

This time, our reviewer Mel Valentin, who knows the Conjuring Universe inside and out, gave the film a shot. His review says it all: "Chaves takes the Warrens through their supernatural evil-fighting ways, but too often relies on over-familiar, repetitive scenes ... To be fair, the back half of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It features several modestly effective set pieces ... though both stand out in large part in comparison to the lack of sustained tension, suspense, and paltry scares that preceded them for the better part of an hour."

Third time's the charm, right? Surely, Michael Chaves' third feature film would satisfy all horror fans. Or, at least, some horror fans. Or would it?

The Nun II (2023)
The film is now streaming on HBO Max.

In this sequel to a spin-off, Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga star as a priest and a novitiate nun, respectively, who battle evil in the form of a demonic nun spirit.

Our intrepid reviewer Mel Valentin took another stab at the supernatural horror universe. In his review, he wrote: "As with its predecessors, The Nun II takes itself seriously, sometimes too seriously. The cast, often more talented and skilled than the screenplay demands, deliver uniformly strong, committed performances.

"The jump scare-filled set pieces, continue to be steeped in all-enveloping, neo-Gothic darkness. Each, in turn, serves to buttress the dire, downbeat mood typical of the series. Evil exists in the world and only the godly priests, stalwart nuns, and true believers in the Catholic Church and its mission can stop it."

Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.