The Conjuring’s James Wan Doesn’t Want to Scare You Anymore

Warner Bros.

Two weeks ago I penned what was essentially a fan letter to Kevin Smith, thanking him for throwing people’s expectations into the garbage and making an off-the-wall horror movie. Tusk has cleared just $1.4 million since it opened on Sept. 19, but whatever. Thanks to his gamble, Smith gets to make Clerks III (and, incidentally, proved that failing really is a good thing). This week, we’re sending up the Kilo flag for horror cinema’s man-of-the-moment: James Wan.

Last year, Wan dazzled with The Conjuring, one of the best scary movies of the past decade. Before that came Insidious in 2010, another winner. But way back when, in the darkest corner of 2004, Wan gave us Saw. That’s right. The man who elegantly terrified you with ghost stories and spirits also popularized torture porn among American audiences. Now, with his action debut Fast & Furious 7 on the horizon, Wan officially has hung a toe tag on his career as a horror director, telling Moviefone last year that Insidious: Chapter 2 will be his final dance with the dark side. And after seeing The Conjuring spinoff Annabelle this week, I’d like to thank Wan for knowing when to fold ‘em.

After seeing The Conjuring spinoff Annabelle this week, I’d like to thank Wan for knowing when to fold ‘em.

It’s not that Annabelle, which Wan produced but didn’t direct, is bad. It’s utterly fine. It has some great jump-and-screams, a likable starring pair, and one hell of a creepy doll. And director John R. Leonetti stayed faithful to Wan’s oh-so-effective style: Swivel-neck camera, wide shots that make the audience dread what’s about to happen within the frame, a highly unnerving use of sound. But in the end, the director behind The Butterfly Effect 2 couldn’t recreate the crucial element Wan nails in all his films: storytelling. Whether it’s a studio staple like The Fast and the Furious or a blood orgy like Saw, Wan understands that without a good story, those movies are just explosions and reflexive screams. Fun, but we already have people like Michael Bay and Eli Roth covering those beats.

One of the best parts about being a horror movie fan is movies don’t have to be great to be effective. Sometimes you just want to buy a ticket, get a generous serving of the heebie jeebies, and be on your way. But at Wan movies, we’ve come to expect more, and as much as we’d love to see him continue spearheading beautifully-crafted fright fests, we would rather he quit while he’s on top—not after he’s cashed his check for The Conjuring 5.

As a producer, he’s churned out six (soon to be seven?) Saw entries, Annabelle, and two upcoming projects, including Insidious: Chapter 3. There’s a lot of money there, but not a lot of soul. Fortunately, Wan has been much more discerning about where he places his director’s chair. Behind the camera, he brings new life to things. That’s why it’s so fitting he will leave horror to lead the Fast franchise, which was rejuvenated when it rebranded itself as a series of heist movies two sequels ago.

The two most recent installments in the franchise—Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6—were the most critically acclaimed of the bunch. Now, Wan enters the NOS-powered fray to reframe his own career and give Fast yet another facelift after losing one of its marquee stars, Paul Walker. An auteur who specializes in scary movies that keep audiences wracked with anxiety paired with one of the most raucous action anthologies in movie history? Sounds like a match made in Tinsel Town heaven.

So, James Wan, I endorse your desire to burn down that old house and go homesteading on the Hollywood frontier. You’ve got brains in your head and feet in your shoes, and you can go any direction you choose … because you’ve made truck loads of money and can take a chance on projects you could totally bomb, or crush clean out of the park. Either way, WIRED stands behind you. Perhaps you and fellow maverick Kevin Smith can collaborate sometime. We have no idea what that would look like, but you’re both men of bold action. I’m sure you’ll figure it out—but can it please star Patrick Wilson, take place somewhere in Canada, and involve aliens?

Whatever you do, please include aliens.

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