Review of The Conjuring (2013) by Chris O — 12 Feb 2018

An extremely well made horror that shows us that smart scares payoff.

Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. "The Conjuring" tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.

I've watched this film how many times, more times than I can count on my hand. Why haven't I reviewed it yet? I don't know, I really don't know. That's a surprise to me because this is probably one of the best structured and delicately crafted horror films I've ever seen. Everything about it feels so complete and it's certainly a great representation of what James Wan can do.

"The Conjuring" is based on the true story, but take that for what you want. The characters in here, who are also based off of real people, are really well constructed. I feel like even though there's not a lot of direct insight into who each of them are, you can still understand who everyone is based on their actions. It's easy to relate to all of them in this situation just through the fear they relate, and the talent behind them all are exceptional.

The reason I love this film is because it's just scary. It's rated R because it's scary, not because of sex, gore, violence, or language. Yeah, it can be seen as a gimmick but I genuinely appreciate an R rated horror because it's just scary. There are no dumb scares in here and when I say that, it means they all had meaning. Jump scares are a misinterpreted piece of art, as they can be really effective. However, they're not effective and they're cheap when they're fake jump scares. This film delivers real scares and builds suspense really well without ever being cheap. That's something you can really appreciate whether you actually like this film or not.

I also love the fact that this story is compelling. It's interesting and it had me emotionally invested the entire time. I was genuinely hooked on this story and I was invested throughout the journey. I was supporting the characters because I related to them and I cared about them. I never felt robbed of anything and it never felt like the creators were copping out. This is one of the best technically made horror films that I've ever seen and it shows that horror can be great if you really try.

In the end, as a film student, this is the kind of horror film I'd strive to make one day. I love this film so much and it's even a part of my giant tattoo. It's one of the best horror films out there and James Wan is certainly one of my favorite directors.