The Conjuring 2

photo courtesy of screenrant.com

     The Conjuring 2 is popular director James Wan’s sequel to the wildly successful horror film of the same name. Like its predecessor, Conjuring 2 has enjoyed a fair amount of box office success and widespread appeal. Although it’s not the most sophisticated horror film on the market, it’s definitely top-of-the-line jump-scare fare from Hollywood. If you’re into scary movies, The Conjuring 2 is a must-see—and it mostly captures the excitement of the original while expanding on its universe.

     The Conjuring 2 follows self-proclaimed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren as they encounter a new and deadly haunting in England. As they fight to prove the validity of the Hodgson family’s supernatural claims, their courage and belief are tested. What is perhaps more frightening than the haunting itself is the realization that their mission may claim everything that the Warrens hold dearest.

photo courtesy of screenrant.com

     So. Cards on the table. I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to horror films. I’m a Rosemary’s Baby, Rear Window, The Babadook kinda guy. Movies that thrive on jump scares and hooky pseudo-spirituality (many scary movies in theaters today) tend to be useful for a one-time thrill, but don’t really stick with you much longer. The Conjuring 2—and its predecessor—fits within the latter category; it’s a lower-tier (albeit well-made lower-tier) scary movie. That is to say, it’s not The Exorcist, despite the fact that it clearly desperately wants to be (see extremely obvious title-card homage).

photo courtesy of comingsoon.net

     But what does make The Conjuring 2 (and, coincidentally, The Conjuring) so interesting is that it centers around both a haunting and a pair of ghost-hunters. We have a particular “case file” to be interested in, but by the time the sequel comes around, we’re also invested in the overarching story of the Warrens—and we almost hope that this “true story” is actually true, and the real-life Warrens aren’t just fakes. It gives the audience someone to root for and believe in besides all the dumb people who are walking into creepy basements and the little girls being perpetually possessed. It’s probably what made me care a little more about this one than the first, which left me relatively unmoved and unscared. An interesting phenomenon for a horror franchise, and I’m sure it’s one the producers intend to capitalize on in the future—and competitors intend to emulate.

     And let’s get something straight. What it does, it does well. There are several really solid scares in the movie, and not all of them are jump scares. One bright spot is that Conjuring 2 introduces a new and truly terrifying villain known eerily as “the Nun,” who, unfortunately, debuted in the film’s advertisements rather than in the film itself. Still, if that shit doesn’t creep you out, it’s probably because you actually are the Nun. Stay away.

photo courtesy of cgmeetup.net

     It should also be noted that on the level of filmmaking craftsmanship, Wan presents a product that is visually rich, which is not usually something you would say about a horror film—continuing to set the Conjuring series above the rest. Yay, high budgets. And the film is bold enough to have an actual prologue that’s mostly unrelated to the rest of the film. What’s more, the prologue is really interesting and unique for a horror film. And what’s even more, the prologue casually skirts past the legendary Amityville Horror story in favor of a different story—a bold and confident move that demonstrates a certain level of storytelling maturity.

     But, while the film starts off quite strong, it eventually takes a turn for the worse. The “cheese factor” has a remarkable presence in the movie. Coincidences, dumb decisions, and terrible dialogue all worm their way into the film just enough to be noticeable and to make this reviewer say, “wait, I really thought this movie was better than that.” There are unintentional laugh-out-loud moments. There are really un-subtle foreshadowings/clues about what’s gonna go down. There’s a really cheesy, continuity-disregarding climax.

photo courtesy of comingsoon.net

     Conjuring 2 just doesn’t match the originality of the original Conjuring (which, although I still wasn’t a huge fan, did have that super creepy “clap-clap” thing going for it). Although Wan does offer some interesting and even unexpected twists and turns, the movie still feels fairly derivative—it doesn’t push any boundaries.

     Some of the characters are a bit much at times, too. Wan plays up the faith and faithfulness of the Warrens, and sometimes you’re kind of amazed that a modern audience is rooting for someone so spiritually goofy. Meanwhile, the skeptics are assholes—and really annoying, aggressive ones at that. But the goal of the movie is not to make a statement, it’s to tell a story. That story necessitates the validity of the Warrens and their claims, and so it fundamentally accepts some of those premises—and that’s not a problem.

photo courtesy of moviehole.net

     All these criticisms aside, The Conjuring 2 is still a decent movie. It’s a fun time at the theater and an engaging thriller that’ll keep an audience interested for 2 hours. And although I wish it was more like The Babadook, it does deliver a top-of-the-line modern Hollywood horror film…for what it’s worth. 

photo courtesy of allshortreview.com