Long Before 'Last Rites,' This Fantastic Conjuring Spin-off Proved the Franchise Could Expand Without the Warrens

The Conjuring was such a breath of fresh air within the horror genre that Warner Bros. almost immediately began developing an interconnected universe, which included spin-offs that didn’t feature Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). Although theoretically, this could have given the franchise an opportunity to do something new and exciting, the 2014 prequel Annabelle felt like a cheap knock-off that was far too derivative of what James Wanhad already done. It would have been easy to dismiss all future spin-offs to The Conjuring as cynical endeavors, but Annabelle: Creation was the rare franchise prequel that deepened the mythology and told its own story. While it added context to The Conjuring that made it more emotionally satisfying, it also served as a great introduction for viewers who had never engaged with the franchise before.