While the Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise remains dormant, it’s been far from forgotten. In fact, director Michael Chaves has just confirmed that there is indeed a reference to Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master within The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. This particular reference was already teased recently, in a newly released moment from the film in which there is a terrifying waterbed sequence. As fans of the Elm Street franchise know, the fourth film memorably used a waterbed to kill one of its characters. Now it looks like The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It will be paying homage to this classic Elm Street moment.
As revealed by director Michael Chaves via Bloody-Disgusting:
“The fourth one was the first one I saw, which was the one with the waterbed,” Chaves explained. “Which, yes, this is a shameless reference to that movie. Ironically, my assistant director [Jeffrey Wetzel] worked on that movie, so I had him tell me all the waterbed secrets. I needed to know how they did it.”
In fact, it seems the film actually contains a variety of references to past horror films. As Michael Chaves also stated:
“Honestly, preparing for it, it was just great to go back through all of my favorite horror movies. Of course, a lot of people mentioned the Exorcist reference in the beginning. I think the Conjuring movies are love letters to the very best classic horror movies. Like The Changeling in the first movie. There are so many great references in that one.”
It definitely sounds as though Michael Chaves knows his horror history. Let’s hope this gave him an advantage with crafting The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Especially since this will be the first film in the main series not to be directed by James Wan.
In the new film…
“The Devil Made Me Do It reveals a chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.”
The next horrifying film in the franchise, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, was directed by Michael Chaves, who previously directed The Curse of La Llorona. The screenplay was written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick based on a story he wrote with James Wan. It was produced by James Wan and Peter Safran. The executive producers were Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Victoria Palmeri, Michael Clear, Judson Scott, and Michelle Morrissey.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will be returning as main characters Ed and Lorraine Warren, with newcomers Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard joining the cast.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max on June 4, 2021.