Review of The Conjuring (2013) by Thomas D — 16 Oct 2016

I've been pretty weary of watching The Conjuring for a few years now. I'm not fond of horror films in general, and I wasn't particularly interested in a horror film that was dubbed "the scariest movie of the last decade." But as an avid film fan, I owed it to myself to give it a shot. I was not disappointed.

A horror film in the theaters is definitely different than viewing it in the comfort of your own home in the middle of the day, but The Conjuring still had a significant impact on me. James Wan brilliantly directs this supernatural flick about a family of 7 dealing with a relentless dark presence in their newly purchased home. It wasn't even so much the demon itself or the endless number of terrifying jumps, but the fact that this was based on a true story.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play Ed and Lorraine Warren, two paranormal investigators who take on the case after the events escalate. I'm sure there were plenty of liberties taken, but The Conjuring is a far more grounded horror film than I expected. Wan does a nice job of building the characters out in full before we get overwhelmed with thrills in the second half. At its core, this is a character piece. And even to a certain extent, a love story between Ed and Lorraine Warren. This wasn't a horror film built around scares and gore, it was built around characters. Wan and his writers, Chad and Carey Hayes, deserve a ton of credit for that.

Part of the creepiness to this film comes from what you don't see. There isn't a ton of scares early on, and the stuff in camera does a lot to set the mood. But the final 30 minutes is about as thrilling of a finale in a horror film than I can remember. I felt a combination of not being able to take my eyes off the film whilst being absolutely terrified to what was on screen. It's certainly well-acted, but Wan and the Hayes brothers are absolutely the stars of this film.

+Thrilling finale.

+Grounded and well thought out.

+Takes its time with characters.

8.7/10.