“The Conjuring 2” opens with notorious ghostbusters Ed ( Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren ( Vera Farmiga) investigating the aftermath of the murders that became known as “The Amityville Horror.” Lorraine has a unique ability to communicate with supernatural beings and has been asked to confirm that what happened at Amityville was demonic in nature and not just a homicidal patriarch. While sitting around a table in the DeFeo dining room, Lorraine has an out-of-body experience that allows her to see the shotgun murders that took place in the house and a “Demon Nun” ( Bonnie Aarons) , which is literally how the recurring vision is listed in the credits, who will haunt Lorraine throughout the film, and issue a warning that Ed’s days are numbered.
After the Amityville prologue, the action jumps to Enfield, England ( we know we’re in England because Wan, never a particularly subtle director, uses “London Calling” on the soundtrack, an obvious choice more playful than annoying) . We meet the Hodgson family, led by single mother Peggy ( Frances O’Connor) and including four children. One of the girls is Janet ( Madison Wolfe) , and she starts to have much bigger problems at home than when she was caught smoking by her teacher. It begins with sleepwalking, progresses to sounds in the middle of the night, and ultimately ends up in possession. A man named Bill Wilkins ( Bob Adrian) seems to have the ability to take over the poor girl’s body, even speaking through her, resulting in some infamous recordings in which a young girl sounds decidedly like an old man. And that’s nowhere near as scary as the crosses that turn upside down or the visions of the Crooked Man. The local authorities get in touch with the Warrens, who make the trip to England to determine whether or not the Hodgsons are faking the haunting or stop them from becoming the next Amityville.