If you ask me, James Wan is a modern master of horror. The man takes his time when it comes to crafting his films, even with sequels, and with each new original horror property he conjures up, the sequels he develops manage be pretty strong when it comes to mainstream horror films. While Saw remains one of my favorite horror films, The Conjuring is where Wan really made it big, so with his follow-up, The Conjuring 2, he uses another true story, this time from England, to creep out audiences around the world.
In this second installment, Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) are looking to take a break from taking on new cases due to some intense visions that Lorraine was having related to Ed’s future. In the meantime, across the Atlantic, a poor family from North London has begun experiencing some terrifying things within their home, originating from the youngest daughter, Janet (Madison Wolfe). After attempts to escape and suppress this vicious spirit domestically, Ed and Lorraine venture across the pond to investigate the activity and provide any assistance they can to the Hodgson family.
Similar to the first film, James Wan delivers in pretty much all the areas we want him to for a horror. It’s not terrifying, but there are plenty of reasons to jump, cover your eyes, and potentially scream in fright. The creepy atmosphere of the film settles in fairly quickly, causing audiences to sink a little in their seats and either cower forward in anticipation or press further into the back of their seat. The smooth camera work, the proper use of sound, and knowing when to expose a spirit and to not show one is an example of just how good he is as a director. There’s a particularly long scene involving Ed Warren communicating with the spirit that is both haunting and mesmerizing.
There are set-ups that would be seen as cliché but the way the story evolves from that feels genuine and real. As in the first film, Wan tries to avoid some of the stereotypical genre tropes, making the victims a little wiser by having them turn on the lights or close the door at times rather than venturing out to see what’s going on. When they do venture out, that’s when sweat begins to trickle down your back because you know something is up. You’re not sure what kind of spirit is involved and how it will impact the family, you just know it’s there and it wants something in particular. SPOILER I also enjoyed how the spirit didn’t give a damn about the time of day, it would show itself and terrorize the family at any hour, which for me is unnerving since I think light is the only way to escape fear when it comes to the paranormal. END SPOILER
My issue with this film is that there seemed to be more CGI than the first film. Sure it was creepy but it didn’t feel as realistic as the first film. On top of that, when we saw the spirits, the make-up and their involvement in the plot reminded me a lot of Insidious for some reason. The menacing nun demon was something I’d never want to see in my house, but when other CG effects were used on her she lost a little bit of her flair. Lastly, the movie is over two hours long which, for a horror, is pretty extensive but thankfully there are only a handful of moments where it felt like it was being dragged out.
Overall, I thought The Conjuring 2 was a very worth sequel to the first film even if falls just slightly short in quality. There is some familiarity which removes a little of the fear, but Wan’s ability to tell a ghost story and envelop you in a creepy atmosphere prevents you from letting all that fear escape. Like its predecessor, it is an unnerving film, especially when you hear and see the recounts of the original case in the credits. It’s a hell of a way to send an audience on their way.
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