Ed and Lorraine Warren were known as "demonologists" in real life. The parade of Hell's finest began with the first film's Bathsheba Sherman, a woman who sacrificed her own children to Satan.
The Crooked Man, and a few others floating around the periphery.
Being a human, The Occultist may seem less scary than the prior supernatural antagonists, but being a so-dubbed "Master Satanist," she operates with the powers of Hell in her favor and a horrifying demon at her disposal. She's a new addition to a long list of interesting Conjuring baddies.
Eugenie Bondurant Plays The Occultist In Conjuring 3
The Occultist is portrayed in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It by actress Eugenie Bondurant, who hails from New Orleans, a city with its own rich history and folklore surrounding the supernatural. Bondurant has been acting since the 1990s, and is quite visually striking, standing 6" tall and sporting a very thin frame. Over the course of her career, Bondurant has appeared on Valak in Nun form.
The Occultist Role & Backstory In Conjuring 3 Explained
As Ed and Lorraine Warren are investigating the possession cases of both David Glatzel and Arne Johnson in The Conjuring 3, they meet a retired priest, Father Kastner, played by Fringe's John Noble. Kastner offers advice and information to the Warrens, but it's eventually revealed he knows way more than he let on, and that the person behind the possessions was his own daughter. The Occultist's real name is Isla Kastner, and the former priest raised her in secret due to the Catholic Church demanding celibacy from men of the cloth.
Kastner later investigated the satanic cult known as The Disciples of the Ram, and that led to a bad outcome. Isla became obsessed with the occult and witchcraft, and got into the dark arts herself, eventually summoning a powerful demon, the same one who possessed David and Arne. It's not entirely clear what her motives are for doing this, other than worshiping Satan, but she needs to have three people die at the hands of those possessed to fulfill her end of the deal. When she doesn't manage to do that, the demon claims her soul, killing her and taking her to Hell.
Is The Occultist Based On A Real-Life Person?
Unsurprisingly, all available information suggests that Isla Kastner, aka The Occultist, was not based on a real person. The Conjuring films have never claimed to be a completely accurate portrait of Ed and Lorraine Warren's life and work, and that's definitely true for The Devil Made Me Do It. Isla was pretty clearly created in order to provide The Conjuring 3 with a lead antagonist, aside from the demon possessing David and Arne Johnson, and also to help propel the plot toward a conclusion. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that since this is a fictional movie, not a documentary. A certain amount of dramatic license is expected to be taken to make the story more effective, and one could easily argue The Occultist's insertion into the mix made the sequel more interesting and exciting.
How The Occultist Connects To Annabelle
The Conjuring universe has tried valiantly to keep each entry connected to the others in some way, even Annabelle spinoff movies revealed that the doll was possessed by a demon that had been summoned by Annabelle Higgins, a member of The Disciples of the Ram satanic cult, as she died by suicide with doll in hand.
It's unclear whether Isla Kastner, aka The Occultist, was an actual full-fledged member of The Disciples of the Ram, or just studied their ways as she increased her dark powers. Either way, she leaves witch totems similar to the Disciples of the Ram's work as a way to place demonic curses on her targets, suggesting she at least considers them her ilk. If she was a member, one wonders if other Disciples of the Ram will target Ed and Lorraine Warren after they find out what happened to Isla.
The Occultist's Future: Can She Return In A Future Conjuring Movie?
The near-future for The Occultist in The Conjuring franchise seems pretty cut and dry, at least as far as appearing in a potential Conjuring 4, which probably will happen considering Conjuring 3's good box office so far. As mentioned above, Isla was killed and her soul taken to Hell by the demon she summoned in retaliation for not living up to their agreement. However, since this is a series revolving around the supernatural, Isla could certainly return as a ghost, or perhaps a demon herself down the line. As for her human form, Isla's ties to the Disciples of the Ram cult could facilitate her appearing in a future Conjuring spinoff or prequel set before Conjuring 3.
