The Conjuring

"The Conjuring" is one of the most thrilling horror film to have come out in recent times. It is up there with "Sinister" as one of the scariest films I have watched. Since it's based off of "true events", it makes it even more interesting. I can't quite give it a full 10 star rating because it does have quite a few jump scares, but at least a good portion of those jump scares add to the atmosphere of this movie. If you are a first time watcher of this movie, it will certainly disturb you for a while. It doesn't stick with me like "Sinister" does long after, but The Conjuring is a fun watch and I always love coming back for a rewatch every now and then.

The Conjuring is a fairly classical horror/haunted house/exorcism movie. That was pretty much what I was hoping for. Slow and creepy build up to a final outburst and confrontation with an evil entity. This is a good movie although it is not really something new in terms of story. It is fairly impossible not to think about, and make comparisons with, The Amityville Horror when seeing this movie. I do not think it really deserves the glowing 9 or 10 star ratings that I have seen but it certainly do not merit those 1 or 2 star ones either. What were these people expecting? This is a solid effort of making a movie along the classical lines of supernatural possession. As I wrote, it is not really something new, but it is nice to see a new movie using this kind of story without just turning it into a CGI gore-feast. Sure, the movie also includes the traditional pitfalls that most horror movies apparently must have like people thinking it is a good idea to walk down into the dark and scary basement all alone in the middle of the night.

One thing that irked me with the movie though was the idea of phantoms and performing exorcism being presented as kind of normal and accepted things. Of the movie would have played itself out 70 or so years earlier maybe but in the 1970′s? It just felt somewhat surreal to see this "ghosthunter" make presentations and talk to people like supernatural entities and the practice of exorcism was just things that happened.

The we have the ending of course. Not that it was overly bad but Christ, if you are going to do an exorcism then do it damn it. Do not stop the procedure and look lost every time something goes bump.

Anyway, I was not sure whether I was going to be disappointed or pleased when sitting down to watch this movie. On the whole I was pleased. It was a nice to watch a movie that was going back to the traditional values in horror movie making and it was as well implemented as one could expect.

I'm an avid horror fan. Lately I've been thinking there isn't much that can scare me (though Sinister got under my skin). I appreciate James Wan's films, I love the first Saw, Insidious was a damn good modern ghost story, but like all reviews have stated for it, the movie kinda loses it's momentum in the final act.

The Conjuring is better, scarier, and more tense than Insidious. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's one of the best horror movies of the last 5 or 10 years. It goes back to the classic rule of horror film making, never show the bad guy fully to your audience. Plus this movie knows suspense, I tell you, I almost threw a water bottle at the screen from sheer terror once the scare finally happened. There are no fake jump scares, the movie earned an R rating without any blood, sex, or profanity, it's all from the terror that this movie builds upon.

Not only is the movie scary, but as a film itself, it's almost a masterpiece. The script, acting, direction, style, tone, etc were all simply top notch. Wan's camera-work here is by far his best out of any of his movies. The choice to set the movie in the 70s was a stroke of genius as it feels so authentic and all the more real. If this story were set in the present, it simply wouldn't be as a effective or scary. The 70s style film making, costuming, and hair styling are a great throwback to likes of The Exorcist & The Amityville Horror.

Though there are a few (extremely minor) flaws, such are length, repetitiveness, and a resolution that happens way too fast. I don't care, every horror movie (or movie in general) has it's flaws. There will never be a perfect horror movie, if there is one, I haven't seen it yet. But all I know is James Wan's The Conjuring is one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time, and it's been a really long time that a movie has scared me this badly.

10/10 Don't miss this one, it's an amazing theater viewing experience.

"Don't summon the devil, don't call the priest ..."

I was one of a lucky few to have seen The Conjuring at a preview screening for FrightFest 2013.

I went in totally cold, not having seen a trailer, nor knowing anything about the story or plot and it turned out to be one of the best scary horror movies I have ever seen.

The Conjuring is a nail-biting, hiding-behind-hands movie. If you've been disappointed with the likes of Paranormal Acivity and Insidious, this one is likely to deliver in areas where they failed.

It tells the supposedly true story of two paranormal investigators, who aim to rid families and properties of their suspected supernatural visitations, either by disproving them (if they turn out to be just creaky floorboards or slamming doors) or tackling them head-on if not. A leap of faith is required to buy into this theme but if you're okay with it, then the movies plays out pretty well within its genre confines.

The particular incident they are brought in to deal with is described as surrounding a spirit 'so malevolent' it was hidden from the public until only now. In fairly Amityville-like circumstances, a family move into a new house and discover the basement is sealed; boarded-up behind a doorway.

It's not at all surprising what follows, once they decide to take a look in the basement but it is surprising how James Wan has managed to take such a tired theme of haunting and possession and revive it so convincingly.

I am no stranger to these kind of movies but this one truly tops them all for tension and terror. I really enjoyed Sinister recently, which I found to be equally as scary but it lost its way a bit towards the end, whereas The Conjuring keeps tempo and has a fairly satisfying conclusion.

I particularly liked the way the film took a turn for the comical somewhere in the middle, only for perhaps five minutes, then came back firing on all cylinders as it headed to the finale. If this was intentional, to lure us into a false sense of security, it worked beautifully.

If you're the type to poo-poo this genre in general, I can't see you suddenly being converted to a believer but, if you enjoy classic horror like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, I can almost guarantee The Conjuring won't disappoint.

The key with The Conjuring is not that it has freshness on its side, as evidenced by the ream of horror fans arguing on internet sites about "nothing new on the table" , but while those fans will be going hungry for a very, very long time, The Conjuring does everything right for the splinter of horror it deals with.

There's a lot to admire about a horror film that in this day and age stands tall and proud against the ream of remakes, sequels and teen friendly slashers that "haunt" the multiplexes with all too much frequency these days. Free of gore and sex, this was automatically going to alienate a good portion of the lustful members of the horror fan base, but for those who like their horror served with appetising scares and a cauldron of suspense, then this delivers plenty to your particular table.

Forget the "based on a true story" tag, since it's kind of irrelevant in this new technological age, it's a selling gimmick that actually means "this story might be true and we might have played with it a bit". Regardless of hoax charges and embellishments, just buy into the premise, commit to it as a scary story in the same way as director James Wan has, for then the rewards are there for the compliant.

Story essentially is based around an investigation in the early seventies by paranormal specialists Ed and Lorraine Warren, who aided the Perron family as they were victims of dreadful supernatural events at their Rhode Island home. Wan builds it deftly, letting us into the Perron families lives as they move into what they believe to be a dream home. Then things start to happen, but again Wan builds it in slow instances, creating a palpable sense of dread, his camera work intelligent. So when the big moments come they have maximum impact and have us also yearning for the Warren's to get involved.

There is no over killing of the boo-jump scares, they are placed with care and marry up superbly with the mounting tension. Naturally all the cliché conventions of the haunted house movie are here, strange smells, creaky doors, ominous cellar and etc, yet these are supplemented with Wan's talented knack for a good scare and a very effective production design. From mysterious bruises and literal leg pulls – breath holding games of hide and seek – to bona fide pant soiling moments, The Conjuring is a lesson in sustained unease until the big finale is unleashed.

The script is devoid of cheese and pointless filler, itself refreshing in a horror sub-genre that suffers often with these problems. Joseph Bishara's musical score is an absolute nerve shredder, and again it's a refreshing accompaniment because it doesn't resort to telegraphed shrieks to tell us to be afraid, it never overwhelms a scene. John Leonetti's cinematography has Gothic textures, both in the house and outside of the lakeside farmhouse, while the strong lead cast of Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston come up trumps for sure.

Met with critical and box office success, The Conjuring justifies its reputation as a superb haunted house movie. 9/10