Perfect Tension With Plenty of Action...A New Genre Classic

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2016)

There has been no movie to stand with The Exorcist for over 35 years in that movies unique horror set. There is now, finally, one that can. The Conjuring 2 picks up the the same unique dark fear and runs with it. It does run too because almost immediately the viewer is plunged into a revisiting, by Loraine Warren, of the how the events played out in the Amityville N.Y. case. It's a good segue-way not just in tone, but as a personal vision Loraine senses regarding Ed. It pushes her, along with the guffaws of the press, to push Ed into agreeing they'd not take on any new cases. Of course this doesn't last when the Catholic Church asks them to vet a particularly high-profile situation a family is London is experiencing.
Now, here's whee I have no touchstone personally if this is played out like the actual case or not. It is probably better this way. Already the viewer is invested in The Warrens as doing what they do very genuinely. Putting them in a case they did actually attempt to vet just seems like the two best people doing what they have a rare talent for. And what a case it is. Without any head spinning we get many of the same chills, maybe played out with a bit less shock, but none the less just as malevolent. It's this keeping it more in your face and simple that seems to be right here. There is a constant fear and oppression which unfolds in an escalating way. When the viewer feels the most fear the whole thing falls apart as it appears to be a hoax. Even the Warrens are shut down. That's when the clincher of a fine ending begins. For the horror genre this is pure gold.
While I'm sure those whose dissect these things have made a long list of faux pas the average viewer won't bat an eye regarding. So much has been steadily crafted the brought to a climax by the great ending one feels a sense of relief in which a harrowing journey seems to be, finally, over. I give the entire movie many pluses. From the period spot-on latter 70;s London with gloom and doom portrayed in the excellent cinematography combined with the played straight screenplay and excellent acting this is a horror film that truly works. Like I said earlier, I feel it stands with the gold standard that for so long had few peers.