Decent Followup and Frightening All Its Own

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2016)

The inherent value of a good horror film is its ability to evoke primordial emotions out of its audience. In today's ever commercially consumed society, there seems to be less variety when it comes to comedy, drama, action etc. It's as if big Hollywood studios have found the perfect algorithms to keep viewers laughing, sobbing or on the edge of their seats. That said, there's still a diversity of ways movies can disturb, unsettle and frighten. One need only look at the two most acclaimed horror movies thus far this year; The Witch (2015) and The Conjuring 2 (2016) to see there's still variety. Yet while The Witch was quietly subversive, The Conjuring 2 is a happy celebration of classic horror movie tropes.
The Conjuring 2 revisits husband and wife team the Warrens (Wilson & Farmiga) as they investigate the paranormal occurrences of the Endfield House in 1970's London. The Hodgson family seems to have disturbed a former resident of the house whose spirit has taken a liking to youngest daughter Janet (Wolfe). With nowhere to turn to and the case becoming a bit of a media circus, the Warrens are resistant to help partially due to Lorraine Warren's premonition of Ed Warren's death.
The Conjuring 2 stands as a textbook example of effective horror house chills and thrills using every technique at its disposal. Everything from high-minded and meticulously created atmosphere and looming dread to low-brow jump scares are administered smartly; stabilizing some of its clichés with brilliant cinematography. Director James Wan recycles a few of the visual motifs of Insidious (2010) and the first Conjuring (2013) but let's not assume every horror movie should be groundbreaking.
Of course at twice the budget as the original, It'd almost feel a waste if The Conjuring 2 decided not to up the ante. Thus instead of two ghostly spirits, the film conjures three, one of which represents the manifestation of youngest son Billy's (Haigh) nightmares. It is the inclusion of this third sprite that the movie starts to lose much of the scrappy competency that made the first so memorable. That and the lack of a showstopping possession. Don't get me wrong the young Madison Wolfe does a tremendous job but Lili Taylor's performance in The Conjuring single-handedly saved the original from third act folly.
Unfortunately, The Conjuring 2 fidgets uncomfortably under such folly, submitting a third act that is at once climactic yet technically disappointing. There are other disappointments as well; many of which stem from constantly hearkening to other, better films. There are references and visual cues to The Omen (1976), The Haunting (1963) and of course The Amityville Horror (1979) which serves less as an integral part of the story and more of a blatant case of horror movie fandom.
Yet for all it's faults, The Conjuring 2 still remains a decent followup to the original and a refreshingly frightening film all it's own. While it doesn't break the mold by any means, the continuation of the Warrens investigations into the paranormal feeds into a certain cultural zeitgeist that popular culture is all to willing to consume. Perhaps horror films serve another function other than to disturb, unsettle and frighten. Perhaps that also exist as an exercise in formalist filmmaking that's unfettered by irony and cynicism. In other words, perhaps some people just need something to believe in.
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