Great Character: Lorraine Warren (“The Conjuring”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Supernatural. Today: Lorraine Warren from The Conjuring, written by Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes.

Before Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson addressed paranormal activity within the “reel world” of Ghostbusters, the ghostbusters in the real world were husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren. With approximately 10,000 supernatural cases to their credit, the work of demonologist Ed Warren and his clairvoyant wife Lorraine Warren has led to the formation of the New England Society for Psychic Research,their crafting of six non-fiction books and popular film adaptations: The Amityville Horror (1979), The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), Annabelle (2014) and the biggest hit of them all — The Conjuring (2013).

The Conjuring IMDB:

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

The Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes screenplay, directed by horror film aficionado James Wan (Saw, Insidious) puts Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, Young Adult) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air) immediately up on the screen as Ed and Lorraine in the midst of the Annabelle doll case and the subsequent college lecture circuit that supplements their investigation services.

We also become privy to their roles as parents to a young daughter and the collection of terrifyingly tangible trinkets from their preternatural cases stored in a museum exhibition in their home. But even though Ed and Lorraine are partners in life and profession, they clearly appear driven by the desire to alleviate the fears and phobias of others.

LORRAINE WARREN: Something awful happened here Ed.

It’s this selfless service and commitment that sends them off to face the Perron family farmhouse haunting after a college presentation, endearing them to the family. Lorraine’s nonjudgmental understanding and motherly protective nurturing aids her in securing trust and cooperation from the Perron parents and their five young daughters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhJRh7xKoyA

While offering her emotional compassion to her clients, as well as unconditional love to her husband and daughter, Lorraine has two very different angles to her identity as a supernatural character. On the outside, Lorraine Warren has an easygoing, humble outlook on her mystic proclivities.

LORRAINE WARREN: A non-skeptic. That’s a pleasant change.

But on the inside, Lorraine’s gift for telepathic perception intensifies her involvement in tracking down spiritual entities in an often-overwhelming fashion. It is Lorraine who sees and experiences the past tense poltergeists of the Perron farm, from suicidal spirits to satanic spooks who inflicted murder in decades past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAyD0URt53g

Even when her own sanity could be in jeopardy, Lorraine never lets the burden of traumatic exorcisms and demonic possessions lessen her motivation to make others the beneficiaries of her afterlife communication skills.

LORRAINE WARREN: You said that God brought us together for a reason. Right? I’m pretty sure it’s not to write a book.

For her unrestricted maternal treatment of family and associates, her instinctive good nature and her strength to overcome the obstacles caused by paranormal problems — Lorraine Warren is a marvelous supernatural movie character, based on a very real woman.

A great character from a scary movie on Halloween day. Perfect!

Thank you, Jason, for this post. Please join us in comments to discuss The Conjuring.

You may follow Jason on Twitter: @A2Jason. 

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