A bit long but better than the first

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2017)

I enjoyed the first conjuring movie well enough but I wasn't dying to see the follow-up. It's a surprisingly good sequel that impressed me more than the first one.
There is a simple enough setup of Loraine and Warren once again going to investigate a haunted house. I think what I like the most about how James Wan starts horror movies is that he really sets the mood. By showing the characters reacting to spirits or scary things going on then we start to get a sense of the state of mind that they get put in.
I love how this movie is shot. With the prevalence of shaky cam and found footage horror movies it's almost refreshing to see long crane cam shots and just an overall clarity how everything is presented. Many horror and suspense movies lean on having cameras wobbling around to create confusion and try and feel scary. His horror movies feel more like he's trying to pull you and make you feel what the characters are feeling.
My one big complaint is the running time. When a movie is asking for more than 2 hours of my attention it better have no pacing issues. The pacing does dip a bit in the 3rd act but the final 30 minutes mostly make up for it.
I hope James Wan makes at least one more of these after Aquaman because these movies are a lot of fun in a way most directors can't come close.