Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, horror’s mum and dad, say goodbye to The Conjuring movies

NEW YORK – The Conjuring movies (2013 to present) may be horror by blood, but they have the beating heart of a grand romance.

Though ghosts and jump scares abound, at their core, they are driven by the profound bond between Ed and Lorraine Warren. The real-life American demon-hunting couple took on countless haunting cases, and the films follow a fictional version of them, played by American actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. They not only visit haunted houses and perform exorcisms, but also, importantly, slow dance and fawn over each other.

But do not take it from me. The pair also say the films have succeeded because of the central relationship.

“I can’t believe I’m about to quote the Bible,” Wilson said, “but it’s something like, ‘Perfect love pushes out fear.’ Our whole series is summed up in that. What is that quote?”

Farmiga completed it for him: “Perfect love drives out fear.”

More than a decade of demon-hunting and romance is coming to an end with the fourth instalment of the franchise, The Conjuring: Last Rites, directed by American film-maker Michael Chaves and co-produced by Malaysian-Australian director James Wan. It is showing in Singapore cinemas.

In a wide-ranging video interview, Wilson and Farmiga, both 52, discussed their roles as mum and dad of horror and how they said goodbye to their most recognisable characters. Even through separate video squares, with Wilson in Atlanta and Farmiga in upstate New York, the compelling chemistry between the two was unmistakable.

Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.

I’m curious to hear more about how you came to this project, with the first movie The Conjuring (2013).

Wilson: We had just finished Insidious (directed by Wan), and I was trying to figure out if we were going to do the second movie. I remember James coming to me and saying: “Hey, we got this property called The Warren Files, and I’d love for you to do this with me.” Then I said: “Who are you looking at for Lorraine?” And he said Vera. That was the game changer. We had known each other socially (through) her (2011) film Higher Ground that my wife (American actress Dagmara Dominczyk) was in as well.

Farmiga: The log line was pretty much it for me. It literally just said, “Ed and Lorraine Warren, deeply in love and deeply into demonology” or something. It hooked me right away. It’s about a demon-hunting soul mate. I thought it was just such a unique and weird combo of Hallmark meets (1987 horror film) Hellraiser. It’s the Hallmark that I loved. Then I read, “Patrick Wilson has the offer”, and I was like, “OK, I’m in”.

I mean, it was pretty obvious after the first one that that’s what people were connecting with: the love between Ed and Lorraine. Beneath all that sadistic demonia, there’s just this ooey-gooey centre of love, and Ed and Lorraine are the nougat. That’s what I eat up. Patrick and I unashamedly approached it oozing with romance. I was not signing on to a horror film in my mind, it was like an old-fashioned romcom.

It’s also interesting to hear that you knew each other beforehand, because the chemistry between you two is such a driving force in these movies.

Farmiga: We barely knew each other socially. I’m an aura kind of person. Like I get the energy that Patrick emits. He’s the guy that’s going to hold up a crucifix and make it capital-R Romantic. I know he is that guy; I know my husband’s that guy. You can smell it a mile away. It’s literally pheromones.

When it comes to fan reactions, is this franchise primarily what you get recognised for?

Farmiga: Nobody recognises me. I would have to have a long tartan skirt and I would have to beehive my hairdo.

Wilson: I’m the scary movie guy.

Farmiga: If we were together, it would be different. All of a sudden, they would click. There’s mum and dad!

How has your relationship to your characters developed over time?

Farmiga: We’re growing up with these characters, right? We were like 37 when we did our first one, and now we’re 52.

Wilson: As they (the screenwriters) got to know us as people, they were writing for us. On the second one, (James) knew that I sang. We used to talk about, what do you think Ed would have listened to? I said, if he’s born at this stage, he probably dug Elvis. So the first scene that he wrote or thought of, beyond any scares, for The Conjuring 2 (2016), was us with the family (that was being haunted), comforting the family. The two of us there, me singing (Can’t Help Falling In Love). After the first film, they really started to centre on us as people.

Farmiga: I’ve played a lot of complex women on film, but this one was wild in the way that it required me to open up spiritually. Lorraine was like a spiritual test. The role required this emotional stamina that I didn’t necessarily anticipate. I can honestly say these four movies have been the most emotionally exhausting work of my career. That has always been surprising as this thing has unfolded. Who knew I would have found it in a horror franchise? Lorraine’s story is so rooted in empathy and sacrifice. Tapping that over and over, it asked so much more of me than just being scared.

How does it feel saying goodbye to these characters after 10-plus years?

Farmiga: We want to show it to the fans and we want the fans to receive it, so it’s not quite real for us, but what my head goes to is that moment on set when I had to say goodbye. To him. And it was pretty funny, the banality of it. There was no fanfare. There was no champagne. No pomp and circumstance. I gave him a mental high-five and like a grunt and just kind of shuffled away and didn’t say anything. I don’t know, maybe there’s just beautiful mutual respect in that silence.

Wilson: All the emotion that we had, any fanfare of like, “This is it, goodbye, Ed and Lorraine”, it is in that movie. It’s all on-screen.

Farmiga: It’s reverent in a way. It’s like we shared something so freaking intense and so sacred that words just would have cheapened it.

What’s next for you guys?

Wilson: I’m putting together something now (to direct) that I’ve been working on for several months. I think I’ve almost cracked the storyline. And I’m finishing up here in Atlanta on Cape Fear (a series also starring Javier Bardem and Amy Adams) and producing this musical of (1987 horror film) The Lost Boys. We open on Broadway in April.

Farmiga: I don’t know, man, we’ve moved on to our next fake spouses. Now he’s walking down the aisle with someone new. You got Amy Adams, I got Mark Wahlberg (in a Stephen Chbosky movie). We’re just like on to the next story. The only difference is we ain’t coming back. Aw, bud. NYTIMES