Very few horror movie franchises have been so viscerally effective as The Conjuring, which has been able to make an impact worldwide, including India
From the universe of The Conjuring comes yet another film, The Nun, which has captured a new tale of evil and is all set to make audiences live their nightmares on September 7. The nun, who had first appeared in the third installment — The Conjuring 2 — is back in the fifth film of this franchise. The movie will tell us about her origin.
Very few horror movie franchises have been so viscerally effective as The Conjuring, which has been able to make an impact worldwide, including India.
James Wan’s Conjuring 2 and David Sandberg’s Annabelle: Creation tasted success with positive word-of-mouth. The winning streak of films from this genre started with the 2013 release of The Conjuring that earned Rs 2.63 crore net in India. Three years later, the stage was set for the second part of the franchise, The Conjuring 2, which not only received a strong opening but also went on to collect Rs 61.78 crore.
Next in line was the fourth installment in the Conjuring series that hit the Indian screens with a bang. Annabelle: Creation did business worth Rs 49.50 crore.
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Other films from this genre that kept audiences on the edge of their seats were Andy Muschietti’s It and the fourth installment of the Insidious franchise—Insidious: The Last Key.
Hollywood is upping the horror quotient with successful offerings in this genre and India’s love for Hollywood horror ventures is increasing with every new project. One reason for their success in the Indian market is that the Indian film industry lacks content in this genre.
According to film trade analysts, Indian directors are reluctant to make horror films because the subject calls for restricted viewing and hence does not get prime time slots on television, which is an important component in revenue collection. Consequentially, returns on investments made on horror films is not strong in India.
India may have a history of mythology, folklore and superstition, but not much of that is explored in Indian horror movies. Due to this lack of content, horror movies here have not gone beyond the usual tropes of women with long black hair or female spirits with their twisted feet.
There is an audience for horror films but Bollywood is yet to find its voice in the genre. In the meantime, Corin Hardy's The Nun promises to be another fright fest for all horror lovers.