THE NEXT TRUE STORY FROM THE CASE FILES OF ED AND LORRAINE WARREN
Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.
I watched The Conjuring last night knowing that I was going to watch The Conjuring 2 tomorrow at my local Cinema and I was really glad that I did get around to watching it because James Wan’s 2013 film turned out to be one of the scariest films that I’ve seen, really terrifying and really well executed. Who’d have thought that we could get something this scary from someone responsible for Fast & Furious 7? Either way, I was eager to come back for more and was prepared to be terrified yet again with the sequel, The Conjuring 2, which knocks it out of the park once again and emerges as one of my favourite horror movies of the year so far, coming instantly recommended.
Based on The Enfield House Hauntings, which is kind of like the UK version of Amytville, The Conjuring 2 takes the true-story inspired demonic possession subgenre to all new heights. Yes it may be a bit too long and may feel in parts like the “greatest hits” of James Wan in the horror genre, but it’s still a very good film that continues to set the benchmark for modern horror. The suspense and tension that Wan creates is excellent, with some memorable scenes and terrifyingly memorable monsters. This is true, scary horror that works thanks to once again the care that Wan puts in fleshing out his characters. I mean, it’s not really a good horror movie if you want them all to die, is it? You’ve got to make sure that there’s a reason behind wanting them to survive.
Here Wan goes into overdrive, upping the ante from The Conjuring and knocking it out of the park with some excellent payoffs throughout the film, blending some great imagination together really well to create a fantastic atmosphere inside the House, and really creating plenty of spooky elements that play right into your fears. Having seen both Conjuring movies over the past two days I’m now going to have trouble getting to sleep easily, that’s for sure…
Possibly even creepier than the first Conjuring movie, The Conjuring 2 is a rollercoaster right from start to finish. We get to see more of Ed and Lorraine’s relationship fleshed out more and whilst yes, there are jump scares, Wan is probably the best at making them work and they shine here. The film makes use of an incredibly imaginative take on the setting and really gets the most out of its clever plotting.
The acting is solid as well, with some decent performances from the returning cast of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, and make the most of the extended run-time. We also get to see Maria Doyle Kennedy (Mrs. S in Orphan Black) and Franka Potente involved in the cast among the rest of its members, that are all committed in making the film really work well, there isn’t a real weak link among the cast at all.
The Conjuring 2 joins 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Witch in what has been a pretty great year for horror movies so far, so if you’re looking for some good scares from one of the best directors in the genres, then this should be right up your street. Recommended.
Watch the Trailer Here | See how it stacks up to every 2016 film that I’ve seen, here.
VERDICT: 8/10
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