[Movie Review] The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Director: James Wan
Writers: Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes
Runtime: 2 hr 14 min
Main Cast:
- Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren
- Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren
- Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson
- Frances O'Connor as Peggy Hodgson
- Laurel Esposito as Margaret Hodgson
Review: by Mia
Having expectations of a horror movie usually ends in disappointment for me. Recently, horror movies have gotten consistently low ratings from me regarding the thrill factor and the story. One of the few movies that managed to actually scare and impress me was the first Conjuring movie. It was a refreshing twist on the thrill formula. As a result, I highly anticipated The Conjuring 2.
The Conjuring films take old school horror tactics and unpredictable plot to create classic horror. In this film, we are once again following the careers of the Warrens, a real life couple who came to fame touring and exorcising spirits and more sinister entities from the homes of those who reached out to the Catholic Church. The film begins at the telling of the famous Amityville house story from the Warrens’ perspective, after the horrific events of the home have occurred. Lorraine Warren taps into her gifts to confirm that the home is haunted and terror ensues from there until the credits roll. The Conjuring 2 gives you not one, not two, but three different entities to fear.
Lorraine Warren begins to question their careers investigating hauntings when her visions warn her that continuing their work could get her husband killed. Her visions are even more terrifying than in the first film, placing her directly into the horrific experiences that she witnesses. She becomes certain that they must remain out of the business of exorcisms in order for her husband to survive. At the same time, a family is being haunted in London. At first, little oddities occur, such as the youngest daughter of the family waking up somewhere different than she went to sleep. Then, the haunting escalates and becomes more threatening. Peggy, mother of four in this haunted house, agrees to allow the very public hauntings to be documented. The entity haunting their house has no qualms about who witnesses its poltergeist-like behavior. This leads the public to question if the family is faking it. The youngest daughter, and sometimes possessed member of the family, is put under the spotlight as a fake. Even the Warrens have trouble determining whether the haunting is real.
Real or not, the creepiness of the possessions cannot be faked. And the fear of the family pushes the Warrens to believe that there is something about this case that they are missing.
The formula of the movie doesn’t stray too far from the original. We find ourselves following a large family: a single mother with four preteen children. This family lives in a home with a questionable past and even more questionable maintenance. They are already dealing with emotional stressors prior to the introduction of the abusive entity(ies) haunting the home. We get introduced to each child and the mother, and then to each room and potentially creepy object in the home. The camera lurks behind walks, peeks around corners, and gets you comfortable with the fact that these angles will soon be giving you mild heart attacks.
At the same time, you have the ever vigilant Warrens ready to dive head first into anything potentially haunting. They face the spirits and demons head on and make sure to take home a souvenir, which of course, leads to their own home being on the verge of haunted. The Nun, probably the most terrifying encounter we get to witness during this film, has “her” sights set on the Warrens and a sick sense of humor when it comes to showing herself. In this, the sequel may surpass the original.
Surprisingly, the humor in this film is refreshingly chilling. The moments that make you want to laugh are just as creepy as the rest of the movie. Ed Warren is the source of most of the comic relief and does so in a way that really impresses upon the audience how the Warrens manage to stay sane through each encounter.
Summary
Here is where I take a moment to acknowledge how much of a wuss I am. Even in the most predictable of horror movies, I cringe when expecting the end of a build up toward a scare. In this movie, there was constant build up after constant build up and you weren’t always ready for what was to come. This haunting was thorough and the cinematic choices reinforced the suspense. There were moments where the camera lurked like the predator in the shadows and moments where it spun to follow what brought on the fear like the prey trying to track its hunter. Cliché, I know, but impressive and effective. This film really took the time to refresh classic horror movies into something that could make even the skeptical jump and laugh at their own fear. For me, the movie felt twice as long with how much I dreaded the next scare. The following day after watching, I was still talking myself out of thinking shadows were more than just shadows if I stared long enough. Points off for predictability… Despite being far ahead of most recently released horror films, The Conjuring 2 still had moments where you can anticipate the next step (and talk yourself out of being scared, if you’re like me). They also left a few questions unanswered regarding the biggest haunting and why it chose to target its victims (avoiding spoilers here). That was a question that I feel should be answered in movies like this.
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( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
