Before The Conjuring series, 1991's The Haunted was the first movie to feature demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren onscreen. James Wan had already created hit horror franchises with both Saw and Insidious, but it's very doubtful he predicted how successful The Conjuring would become. The 2013 original was based on a case by Ed (played by Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), with the film mixing dread-inducing suspense with unforgettable jump scares.
It was also grounded by the sweet relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren, though it drew critiques over its depiction of the controversial couple too. The Conjuring has since spawned direct sequels and many spinoffs, including The Nun. To date, there have been eight Conjuring universe movies, which have collectively grossed over $2 billion worldwide. This makes The Conjuring the most successful horror movie franchise in the world, and the franchise is set to continue with a sequel to The Nun and other potential spinoffs like The Crooked Man.
Audiences have really warmed to the onscreen relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren, but the original Conjuring wasn't the first to feature the pair. The Warrens' Amityville investigations served as inspiration for 1979's The Amityville Horror - with Lorraine also being an advisor on prequel Amityville II: The Possession - but The Haunted is first to feature them as characters in the story. The Haunted is based on the Smurl haunting, where couple Jack and Janet Smurl along with their children moved into a new home in Pennsylvania, only to be allegedly tormented by the three spirits and a demon who also dwell there.
The Haunted depicts the gradual ramping up of the haunting, from the Smurl's hearing voices and strange noises to the demon physically and even sexually assaulting family . The TV movie was based on the book The Haunted: One Family's Nightmare, with Jeffrey DeMunn (The Walking Dead's Dale) and Sally Kirkland playing Jack and Janet Smurl respectively. While not as intense as The Conjuring, The Haunted can be genuinely eerie and disturbing, choosing to put atmosphere over jump scares.
The Smurls eventually turn to Ed and Lorraine Warren after the Church proves unable to help, played by Stephen Markle and Diane Baker (The Silence Of The Lambs). They're more stoic figures in The Haunted, in contrast to their warmer relationship in The Conjuring universe, and play more of a ing role in the plot. The Haunted is fairly obscure now, though viewers who watched it back in 1991 have vivid moments of the way it depicted the Smurls' torment, and maybe The Conjuring series itself will revisit this story someday.