HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: THE CONJURING 2



7/10

Paranormal investigators Lorrain and Ed Warren are facing the most horrifying case in their career - Amityville Horror - when Lorrain has a premonition of something horrible to happen to Ed. Refusing to pursue any more cases she cannot avoid facing her fears when the Warrens are commissioned to investigate a new demonic possession in London – the terror of Enfiled, where a young girl is being terrorized by a restless spirit. But as Lorrain enters the house she cannot feel any supernatural presence. Is there really something otherworldly happening here? Or is it just someone’s foul play?

James Wan makes me proud to be a fellow Australian. He loves genre movies and he does them well. His Furious 7 in my opinion is the best entry into the franchise, but it is horror films that he does best.

THE CONJURING 2 is a sequel that does not upstage the original, but works perfectly in its own merit. It is longer than your average horror film, but is perfectly structured. For over a third of the movie we see the Warren family battling their personal demons, switching to the English family and their horrific experiences in Enfield. During those early scenes Wan builds an almost unbearable tension, and this atmosphere does not let go until the end titles start to roll.

If you pull THE CONJURING 2 apart, you will see all the familiar tropes – it all had been done before. But when it all comes together it creates a fresh and scary movie with well-shaped characters and the horror you believe in… at least while you are watching the film.

The score from a very unusual composer Joseph Bishara, Wan’s favorite for many projects, is a perfect background for the terrifying images on screen. Instead of following a leitmotiv, his soundtrack is a sound effect-like, with every effort thrown to maximize the scare. If you buy his CD it is unlikely you will be able to get through it in one go!

Wan was always great at creating memorable villains and his Nun Demon is a creature of nightmares. When it appears it owns every scene, and is, I cannot find a better word, as scary as hell.

A young actor Madison Wolfe has to be praised for her role of the possessed girl Janet Hodgson. In the hands of some less talented actor her many incarnations of evil could have turned into an epic fail.

This is not a perfect film, however. The pseudo religious nonsense if not damaging to the film, still feels irrelevant and too many questions are left unanswered.


But CONJURING 2 is a scary joyride with no aftermath – as terrifying as film is, it is no more than a successful theme park attraction. Don’t expect the buckets of blood and gore being thrown at you - it is all about atmosphere, and having a great time at the movies.

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