The Conjuring series of films and its many spin-offs have been some of the most successful horror movies of the past decade. James Wan’s horror franchise has managed to breathe new life in the haunted house style horror movies and introduced a wider audience to the terrifying investigations of the Warrens.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were some of the world’s most renowned demonologists and investigated countless cases of ghosts, demons, and even werewolves. That being said, they aren’t the first or only exorcists to appear on the big screen. This article will give 5 reasons why the Warrens are the best movie exorcists and 5 reasons why they aren’t.

This is true of both the real-life Ed and Lorrain Warren and their cinematic counterparts. Ed Warren was the only non-ordained demonologist to be recognized by the Catholic Church. This is a testament to his skill and character as a paranormal investigator.

While it may not appear to be that big a deal, it is certainly one of the biggest accomplishments of the Warrens and it certainly ought to be recognized.

Not: Driving With Anabelle In The Backseat

Upon investigating the cursed doll, the Warrens opted to take Annabelle back to their house so that they could control the demon more easily. However, they opted to drive home with the doll resting in the back seat.

As a consequence, their car began to swerve, resulting in a very challenging and dangerous drive back home. Of course, she had to be transferred some way but it just didn’t seem like a good idea to drive with her in the back seat. Surely there was some precaution they could have taken that would have sedated the demon or something.

Best: Always Willing To Help

The Warrens are certainly always willing to help. Despite the fact that Lorraine Warren had just had a terrifying experience before the events of the first Conjuring movie, she still helped the Perron family with their demon infestation.

In many ways, the Warrens are like the Justice League of the Conjuring Universe. Regardless of the odds against them or the danger posed to their own lives, the Warrens are always willing to help out a scared family.

Not: Dubious Stories

This only applies to the real-life Warrens, but it is worth mentioning as the films are based on ’true events’. The Warrens have drawn substantial criticism over the years due to the lack of evidence that the Warrens have actually provided. Additionally, they are also known to have investigated the Amityville and the Enfield Poltergeist cases, both of which have been accused of being hoaxes.

Due to the fact that the Conjuring movies are described as being ‘based on true events’, the issues with the reputation of the real-life Warrens ought to be discussed.

Best: Able to Survive

The clearest and most obvious reason why the Warrens are the best movie exorcists is that they have a perfect survival rate. Other movie exorcists, such as Father Merrin, could not survive his encounter with a demon. While Merrin was still successful in removing the demon, it is certainly a pyrrhic victory.

The Warrens, on the other hand, have survived their encounters with evil. This is even more noteworthy when one considers that Ed was even prophesized to die by Lorraine during an exorcism.

Not: Unprepared

This may be unfair to the Warrens as it could just be a conceit of the genre. In other words, they may make mistakes so that drama and tension can be built up later in the movie. That being said though, it still makes the Warrens look incredibly unprepared and inexperienced.

The two Conjuring movies both end with chaos. This surely could easily be avoided if the Warrens would instigate a plan to handle the demon. This chaos should not occur that routinely as the Warrens are supposed to be vastly experienced in exercising demons.

Best: Guitar Playing

One of the most endearing features of the Warrens is how warm they are as people. The best example of this can be seen by Ed’s guitar playing. It helps him connect to the family he is helping and to relax them too, something which is very unique to the Warrens.

This ‘bedside manner’ that the Warrens possess is vital in building a connection to the victims of the demon and is certainly welcomed by those victims.

Not: Locking Annabelle In A Box

This list isn’t taking any issue with the spiritual cage that Annabelle is trapped in. The box is blessed with holy water and built from structures of a Church. The issue here is with the physical cage she is trapped in.

While spiritually the cage is strong, all that is preventing Annabelle escaping is a small lock. As seen in the most recent Annabelle movie, all it takes is one naive individual to open the door and she is out. Why not encase the blessed box in concrete? Or place her box in a safe?

Best: Iconic Investigations

This addition may seem strange due to the fact that the dubious past of the Warrens has already appeared on this list. That being said, despite the fact that some of these stories (such as Amityville and the Enfield Haunting) have been accused of being hoaxes, they are undeniably terrifying and iconic stories.

The fact that the Warrens investigated these seminal cases of ghosts and demons makes them some of the most iconic exorcists and paranormal investigators of all time. Hopefully, the Conjuring franchise will explore more of the Warrens’ case studies, such as the haunting in Connecticut.

Not: Cursed Object Museum

This addition is tied to the Annabelle one from earlier. It is very irresponsible to have a room full of cursed and haunted objects right beneath your house, even more so when you have a curious young child who is almost guaranteed to find her way down there.

Keeping all of these objects down in their basement is an accident waiting to happen, and the accident does indeed occur in the most recent Annabelle movie.