03-007 The Enfield Haunting without the Warrens

03-007
The Enfield Haunting without the Warrens

One year prior to the premiere of The Conjuring 2, there was another screen adaptation of the “Enfield poltergeist”, one of the nine notable investigations of The Warrens listed by Wikipedia, coming out. In contrast with the Hollywood blockbuster The Conjuring 2, this early candidate was not targeted to the big screen. The show, first aired on 3 May 2015, was produced by the European TV network Sky for their British TV channel Sky Living. Title is simply called The Enfield Haunting.

The Enfield Haunting

The Enfield Haunting is TV miniseries with 3 episodes. With a run time of around 45 minutes per episode, the miniseries counts up to the length of a featured film. Since the last decade, all TV shows are produced in high resolution. The Enfield Haunting is not an exceptional. I got a chance to watch this miniseries recently. Despite the relatively lower budget, The Enfield Haunting gives its audiences an atmosphere comparable to movies in The Conjuring Universe.

Same as The Conjuring 2, The Enfield Haunting is also a dramatization of the “Enfield poltergeist” investigation. So, what are the differences between the two?

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

First, the Warrens were not appearing or even mentioned in the miniseries. In The Conjuring 2, Ed and Lorraine are the protagonists. They arrived Enfield to join the investigation of other paranormal investigators, Maurice Grosse and Anita Gregory. At the time when they arrived, Anita Gregory has already come up with a conclusion that the whole haunting was just a hoax and about to leave. The Warrens later found out that was not the case. The haunting is actually true. And they fixed it. Watch the movie if you want to know how and what they have done. I don’t want to spoil too much.

In The Enfield Haunting, Maurice Grosse is the protagonist. And he believes the haunting is not a hoax. He experienced that and even got a handful of evidences on hand. And he finally fixed the problem. The haunting was over when he left the house in Enfield. The Warrens never appeared and were never needed.

Which one is better?

For sure if you are talking about visual engagement, then definitely James Wan wins. But if talking about storyline, the ending of The Enfield Haunting is indeed a bit surprising. The Conjuring 2 is more like an action RPG game, where you met the big boss finally, you fought with it to the very end and dramatically you won the battle. It is exciting but we all know the ending before watching. The Enfield Haunting did contain a little twist at its end.

Which one is closer to the real “Enfield poltergeist” case?

To be honest, most of the critics now believe that the whole “Enfield poltergeist” case is nothing but a hoax! Both The Enfield Haunting and The Conjuring 2 contain loads of Hollywood creations inside. But the Warrens were seriously criticized for their involvement in this case. Reports said that they were arriving uninvited, just turned up for merely a couple of hours and were even refused to enter the house. The Hollywood blockbuster definitely got more MSG inside than the British TV miniseries.

The two investigators, Maurice Grosse & Guy Lyon Playfair

I recommend watching The Enfield Haunting if you are a horror movie lover, especially if you have watched The Conjuring 2. The Warrens were not inside the miniseries. But it is a dramatization of a so-called Warrens’ notable investigation, Warrens fans should have a look into it.

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