Rating of
3/4
A scary throwback.
Jacob Zembower - wrote on 07/25/13
With The Conjuring, James Wan continues to prove he's developing as a film maker. Beginning with the unintentionally hilarious Saw, to Dead Silence, and Insidious which became his biggest hit, The Conjuring is his crowning achievement so far. Based on the true story of the Perron Famly Haunting, as well Ed and Lorrainne Warren, two paranormal investigators who come in to try to help the Perron's but soon find themselves in one of the darkest, most terrifying haunting they've witnessed. Wan knows how to play his audience like a tightly wound fiddle. Filled with such sustained sequences of pure tension, it left my stomach in knots. Opening with a prologue involving Annabelle the haunted doll (another true story) he sets the stage. The first scene is so creepy, tense, and cover your face scary, it would feel that maybe it would fizzle on from there. It's the best opening to a horror film since Scream, if not one of them. Luckily, though, the rest of the film is up to par. And damn is it scary. While all the performers put in solid work, it's Lily Taylor and especially Vera Farmiga who give tremendous performances. Farmiga is flawless in her performance, gentle, warming, but also terrified. A certain sequence involving her during an exorcism is down right chilling. Does Wan still rely on jump scares? Yes. But in the case of Wan, his jolts are truly jarring and never cheap. Ultimately, The Conjuring is one of the best modern mainstream horror films of the year. You'll scream, you'll grip your chair, you may tremble. It's a frightening, old-fashioned, throwback to 70s horror. Even if the ending runs out of steam, and it's obvious hollywood interfered with some of it. These are nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. The Conjuring as set the bar this season. And if you are a horror junkie don't pass this one up. It's a rattling experience. And I already look forward to the sequel. (Rated R- contains intense sequences of terror, some violence, and disturbing images)
