VERA FARMIGA TALKS ABOUT THE HORROR MOVIE “THE CONJURING 2” AND HER BELIEF IN THE PARANORMAL

Vera Farmiga reprises her role, co-starring Patrick Wilson, as real-life paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2.

Set six years after the events of the first film, which went on to be the top grossing horror film of all time, The Conjuring 2 sees true-life couple and famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to Enfield, England to help single mother Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her four children battle a supernatural, malevolent entity.

Most effected by the evil spirit is Janet (Madison Wolfe), the youngest daughter, who frequently finds herself sleep-walking, waking up in different rooms and being taunted and terrified by the spirit. Sound creepy enough for you?

“She’s more frazzled this time. She realizes that she’s caught between and rock and a hard place and this is what she’s meant to do but not necessarily meant to do it,” Farmiga said at the press junket about where her character stands six years later. “And this comes at a time when their trickiest case is presented to them, which is Enfield.”

The Enfield Poltergeist, like the story in the first film was an actual documented case. It became one of the most documented cases the Warrens investigated. Inexplicably, an evil entity took hold of Janet and the Warrens were sent by the church to investigate claims of demonic possession.

According to Farmiga, who remains close with the real life Lorraine, now 89, and with whom she gained personal insight and information about her experiences for her portrayal, says this work was stressful and took a big toll on Lorraine—brought on by the constant danger by spirits, dealing with emotional drainage and constant criticism and skepticism by non-believers.

“It never got easier with her. This kind of work never gets easier. Her instrument’s fine-tuned, but it takes a beating,” Farmiga told Screenrant. “She needs these tune-ups and just a break, and obviously she never got one. Lorraine [is] so plagued. Even to this day, when I go to her house, she won’t go downstairs. She won’t go to the artifact room. I mean, why have it in your house to begin with is my question, but she won’t.”

The Conjuring 2 will definitely have people creeped out but one of its main themes is focusing on the idea of belief of supernatural entities.

“I really don’t have any concrete beliefs about this,” Farmiga admits. “I’m really flexible. But I’m open to other people’s openness about their experiences. I’ve never been hounded by a poltergeist. But I’m interested in other people’s testimonies and part of a brain that I don’t have access to. I don’t know. It’s all fascinating.”

But the question is, with two true-life horror stories under her belt, does Farmiga scare easily?

“I can get spooked here and there,” she told the Toronto Sun. “Sometimes I feel things, but I never see things. [One] night I was up at four in the morning because I heard a knock at the door of the hotel I was staying at and when I got up to answer it, there was no one there. I was so scared, I turned on all the lights and I couldn’t fall back asleep. I just surfed the web.”

The Conjuring 2 opens June 10.

—Toni-Marie Ippolito