First up, a question: when should a horror movie be allowed to run for 2¼ hours? The short answer: never! The best thing about The Conjuring 2 is the realistic sets and settings replicating Britain in the late ‘70s. The furniture, the houses, the clothes – what a hoot! The storyline however seemed to me to be ridiculous claptrap. I am not doubting that it is based upon truth, but it becomes a mixture of shocks, great music of the times and syrupy romanticism.
The first film, The Conjuring, had the largest opening for an original horror movie. It went on to make more than US$300 worldwide and still remains the second highest grossing original horror film of all time, second only to The Exorcist. Because The Conjuring 2 is a horror movie based upon possession, something unusual occurred before filming of the sequel began. The time and date were 6:45am on September 21th, 2015. The location: Stage 4 of the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California. Fifteen minutes ahead of the official start of principal photography, Father Steven Sanchez of Albuquerque, New Mexico – a Roman Catholic Church-sanctioned exorcist and personal friend of demonologist Lorraine Warren – blessed the production before cast and crew. Father Steve then extended an invitation for a personal blessing to anyone in attendance. Afterward, he moved through the stage using holy water and anointing oil to bless each room that comprised the main set. Making a movie about a documented possession, the filmmakers took no chances. Then, and only then, did filming begin.
In 1970, the Warrens battled a malevolent presence that permeated a remote farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, a case brought to the screen in 2013 in James Wan’s The Conjuring. Then came the most highly publicised case of their careers, Amityville, which would nearly destroy them. Then, in late 1977, with the effects of Long Island still haunting them, the Warrens came out of a self-imposed sabbatical and travelled to northern London. That is where they would take on a vile demonic entity that had taken root in the home of the Hodgson family, in the populous borough of Enfield. What is thought by many to be a hoax became the most documented case in paranormal history.
Talk about things that go bump in the night. There is nothing subtle about the ghostly terrifying presences in the Hodgson household. No wonder they and their neighours are skittish. Peggy at first tries to reassure her brood that nothing is wrong, but she soon sees and knows differently.
There are some genuinely scary moments in the film (“gotcha” moments), but there are also several tropes of the genre that are not only clichéd but tired. Among them items move on their own, shadowy apparitions enter from stage left, doors slam shut repeatedly that are then unable to be opened. I could go on, but I won’t bother.
The relationship between Lorraine and Ed reads like a Mills and Boon novel. When they go to slay the demon in England, what happens to their daughter. She is in the frame one moment and never mentioned again? And when they go to fight the good fight, it seems to go on forever. Sorry, but I didn’t really buy into director and co-writer James Wan’s latest showcase of dread. Rated MA, The Conjuring 2 scores a 5 out of 10.
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe
Release Date: 9 June 2016
Rating: MA 15+ – Strong supernatural themes and violence
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television