The Conjuring 2: Everything We Know About The Movie's Original Demon
The Conjuring 2’s demon nun, Valak, is one of the most memorable things about the movie, and yet it’s come to light that a completely different demon was originally set to be the primary antagonist — here's everything we know about the original monster in The Conjuring 2.
The visionary director James Wan has made his mark on the horror genre since the early 2000s, and is responsible for several successful franchises, such as Saw and Insidious, but The Conjuring 2 is one of his most accomplished movies to date. It extends the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), who are based on real life paranormal investigators, as they help a new family who are being haunted, just as they did in the original movie. The Conjuring 2 works for many reasons, but Valak - the demon that attacks the Hodgson family and Lorraine - is one of the most striking things about the sequel.
Valak primarily takes the form of a demonic nun, which led to such frightening scenes that it was able to get a larger piece of the connected Conjuring universe by way of its own spin-off movie, The Nun, which is slated to get a sequel. The Conjuring universe showcases a lot of different demons and paranormal entities, but Valak is one who has gotten some of the most attention, similarly to how the evil doll, Annabelle, also got its own franchise within the movies' shared universe. That’s why it’s so surprising to learn that The Conjuring 2’s Valak was actually a last-minute replacement for a totally different demon.
James Wan revealed on Instagram what the original demon designs for The Conjuring 2 were supposed to look like, and they’re definitely frightening enough to square off against the Warrens. The original design, which came from Wan, concept designer Aaron Sims and Justin Raleigh of Fractured FX, is referred to only as the Horned Demon, but it’s a much more aggressive creature than the name posits. A whole animatronic suit was built for Wan's Horned Demon, which would have demonic wings added along with special effects. This is a much more stereotypically evil looking creature that feels like it could even represent Satan. It’s interesting to note that Wan stated this design was originally developed for an unmade Castlevania movie that he was attached to; it was intended to be their unique take on Dracula. It’s easy to see that inspiration in the Horned Demon design, which feels more like a leader of demons. The Horned Demon would be even more appropriate for use in an Insidious sequel, another Wan horror movie franchise.
Wan decided to shift gears to the Valak/demon nun approach because he felt this Horned Demon wasn’t personal enough for Lorraine. He pulled from the real-life Lorraine’s affection for nuns, and warped this idea into a way to test and taunt the character’s faith. The Horned Demon would no doubt terrify the Hodgson family, but it does feel a little too grandiose, especially for what’s only the second movie in The Conjuring franchise.
As Valak is a demon with roots beyond The Conjuring movies, the Horned Demon still may have been associated with Valak, albeit just in a more traditionally demonic form. It’s the more intimate and corrupted nature of Valak’s demon nun form that makes the character as effective as it is; there likely wouldn’t be a Horned Demon spin-off movie in the same way that there is with The Nun, which functions similarly to what some might expect from a live-action Castlevania movie. It’s a change that speaks to Wan’s smart instincts as a filmmaker and why The Conjuring 2 manages to be both an impressive sequel and horror movie.