Review of The Conjuring (2013) by Now-Hear-Me-Out — 20 Jul 2013

I'm feeling as though I'm in a rather small majority on this one. The Conjuring was the horror film equivalent to Prometheus: concerning all of its high expectations. To put it simply, horror films are all about the set up and the release (or the "pay-off"), and I felt neither. In my opinion, having felt the lack of the release was due in part to the weak or unclear set up. I don't consider myself a writer, although I believe I could be capable of writing a screenplay that could get away with murder.

Speaking of murder, how many deaths occurred in the span of this film? Well, there are certainly various instances of implied murders, but other than that we only see the family’s dog and a scene that contains flocks upon flocks of birds that fall (or fly rather) to their death. All of the slayings surrounding any humans had taken occurrence in the past in regard to the history leading up to the family’s arrival. Whether a story is illustrated through a movie, a play, or a book (or any other medium), death is to be used as a plot device: a means to give a strong punctuation to the overall storyline. So what is death? Death is the looming threat that will eventually get the better of us, if we’re ready for it or if we’re not. The element of death can be represented symbolically as a warning, as significance, or the consequence of there being one.

If there isn’t a single main character that doesn’t die in a HORROR film amid the first and second act (even up to the third act), then the film instinctively looses its power, and one’s attentiveness along with it. At the conclusion of the film, one might ask, “So, what did we gain from this?” Well, we relearned that at the end of any successful exorcism, the film would automatically instill a peaceful and a settling mood to the environment. That type of mood is over portrayed in the conclusion, and doesn’t benefit the film at all; it felt forced. We also learned that “jump scares” are still being used as a gimmick these days (yes, there are “jump scares” in this) only to lift audience’s eyelids of slumber. And lastly, if there are occurrences of paranormal activity at any time shown in a horror film, it better had be at night (or in this case, at 3:07 am precisely).

Which now brings myself to the time to talk about the aspects of the film that I did enjoy, and thought that the film did justice to. The characters in the film are likeable enough to care for (to an extent) the cinematography is some of the best work I’ve seen in most recent years, the first shot and the last shot felt like the two highest points of visual stimulation, the score for the film was nice and booming (although in scene of the exorcism, the film decides to splice it along side with a character searching for someone in another section of the house, which lacks the tension in the score when it shifts back to him). There were a couple of Amityville Horror references that provided some sparks. And the exorcism scene itself was creative and inventive with the environment of which it was set.

However, the film did not deliver any emotional connection between my associates and I. We found ourselves pointing out (and chuckling about) where the next big scare would be, and we weren’t all that far off for the majority of them. There was only one time that the film caught me off guard. It dealt with the character Lorraine Warren, who was standing outside by the lake (or river) when her husband comes from behind her when, she spots a corpse hanging from the tree behind him, which gave the film some points. The reason the sequence worked as well as it did was due to the time it occurred: MIDDAY. Which is perfect in any horror film to strive for, because it will not be anticipated.

I went into this film the same way I go into any film these days, which is to go into it without any knowledge of the plot, characters or anything. It is simply the trailers these days that can give away crucial large chucks of the film; thus I avoid them at all costs (though I wouldn’t have felt any more letdown than if I had). A lessor film would have added a cheap jump scare to the ending shot; this one does not, which it earns some more points for that as well.

Overall, I thought there were various elements of the film that were rather rewarding to its plot. Though the film as a whole, felt somewhat lousy in its execution. Now there are some critics out there that are calling it something like “This generation’s The Exorcist!” It’s a statement that sounds a bit hefty for a film that might not age as well as the classic. In the end, if one were to compare the two, they will find a clear and strong difference between the two films: AUTHENTIC HORROR.