Don't be afraid of the dark.
The Lowdown:Faithful readers know that I love horror movies and that I detest how Hollywood constantly fails to make good ones. Thank goodness for James Wan, the director who periodically stops by to give the horror genre a much-needed jump start. Known for Saw and Insidious, which I called “the scariest American horror film in the last decade”, Wan returns with The Conjuring, which is probably the best horror film since, well, Insidious. With nail-biting suspense, a foreboding atmosphere, and an excellent script and acting, The Conjuring will have you on the edge of your seat and will leave you breathless. However, don’t watch the trailer, which gives away far too much.1. The Plot: The Perron family has just moved into a new home. All seems well, but increasingly disturbing occurrences in the new home begin to frighten the unsuspecting family. Panicking, they call on Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), paranormal researchers who examine the house and discover that there is indeed something malevolent haunting the place.
And would you believe that it gets creepier?
2. The Characters: The Conjuring features something rarely seen in horror films anymore: good performances. There isn’t a single weak performance in the film, and I think this is because of the chemistry between all of the actors. The Perron family consists of Carolyn (Lili Taylor), Roger (Ron Livingston), Andrea (Shanley Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), Cindy (Mackenzie Foy), and April (Kyla Deaver). The casting works because all of the actors convincingly portray a tightly-knit family. The filmmakers also give each character adequate screen time so that each actor has their own moment to shine. Patrick Wilson (Insidious) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) are Ed and Lorraine Warren, the demonologists who investigate the Perron case. The two are great actors and have excellent chemistry, making their characters much more human and easier to relate to. It is clear that the two love each other and their daughter, and they are constantly worried about their job. They each realize the dangers present and the consequences if something goes wrong.3. Subverting Clichés: The Conjuring is and isn’t your typical haunted house film. On the surface, there are so many elements straight out of other horror films. A haunted house, an unsuspecting family, paranormal researchers, things that go thump in the night, a tragic history of the house, etc. But The Conjuring actually takes the time to give a rational explanation for the occurrences. In any other haunted house film, one always wonders why the family doesn’t just leave the house. The Conjuring has an explanation for why the Perron family can’t just simply leave. One could argue that The Conjuring is full of clichés, and to be honest, it is. However, there is a difference between being completely generic and breathing new life into tired tropes. The Conjuring is more than a house with evil spirits that pop up in the middle of the night and go “Boo!” The filmmakers take their time to devise unsettling, creepy imagery that both disturbs the audience and serves a purpose in the narrative. For instance, an old music box that plays a creepy, tinkly tune is used several times in the film for slow-burning scary scenes. Even a simple act such as clapping becomes something unsettling. The fact that the filmmakers are doing new things with old ideas is refreshing, and they never do the exact same thing twice. This adds a level of originality to the film that is absent from so many horror films today (see: Texas Chainsaw 3D).
4. The Buildup and the Payoff: The whole point of a horror film is to scare the viewer, and there are many tricks the filmmakers use to pull this off, from slow-burning buildup of tension to simple jump scares. Like in Insidious, James Wan strikes a balance between these methods. There is never an overreliance on cheap jump scares, but the filmmakers make sure to ramp up the suspense to keep the audience on edge. The result is that each scene has an appropriate payoff that works to effectively shock the audience. Building the suspense makes the audience tense up and expect something to happen, and the payoff is often the unexpected. Wan and his team know how to deliver the right scares at the right moments.
Wait for it...wait for it...
The Bottom Line: The Conjuring is a masterful modern horror film. It may not tread new ground, and the whole “based on a true story” thing gets old really fast, but the film cleverly and subtly takes old ideas and turns them into something new and refreshing. The performances are surprisingly strong for a horror film, probably because the actors have the appropriate chemistry. The best part: The Conjuring is actually scary. Think how rare that is for a horror movie nowadays.The Conjuringis property of Evergreen Media Group, New Line Cinema, and The Safran Company. This review was written by me.
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