High-hopes sequel that does not live up to its potential

Rating: 1/10 (12 July 2016)

::This review may contain potential minor spoilers, but no blatant and major giveaways::
The first Conjuring was something of a very nice surprise for me. I'm not one to usually buy into major release Horror films, but heard so many good things about it from audiences and critics alike that I caved in. What I didn't expect was that it ended up being a very solid and very traditionally done ghost story, with effective character development and slow burn buildup. It had its moments of cheap jump-scares and gags here and there, but overall it was surprisingly effective.
Jump forward to the sequel, and there's problems from the start. To parrot its predecessor, the film opens with a previous case of the Warrens (this time the infamous Amityville haunting). Though the Annabelle sequence from the first film felt a bit contrived, it was still effective, it didn't run away with the 'cliche creepy doll' thing too much and the sequence was creepy, despite being relatively mundane. The Amityville sequence thrusts the viewer into a jump-scare filled climax right off the bat, leading the way for the inconsistently toned and paced remainder of the film. The immediate next gripe was setting the scene for London. Using the Clash's London Calling, along with kiddies calling each other that word that starts with 'W' and rhymes with Tanker (a word that apparently makes IMDb's prohibited word list) made the viewer very well aware that the film takes place in jolly old England. I don't think I could've come up with more painfully obvious and groan-worthy (not to mention cliché and distilled) references to English culture if I tried. Already, the movie was off to a bit of a rocky start, but I gave it a chance. I really did. So from here, I will point out some of the things the film did do right.
The performances are all handled well, and the kids are particularly strong in their roles. Wilson and Fermiga are once again, a believable on-screen couple. The strong eerie atmosphere from the first film is back and better than before, as the camera compositions and movements are much more dynamic and interesting. The entities in the Conjuring 2 are a bit of a mixed bag however. On one hand, the old man in the chair is appropriately subdued and fairly nuanced, but then you have a demonic nun, that while creepy enough, has a design that feels old and tried, and felt as though it was trying too hard. Lastly, you got the Crooked Man, which while rather cool looking I must admit, felt pretty out-of-place within the grounded reality the narrative set up thus far, contributing to the film's already inconsistent nature. For a dark horror movie, The Conjuring 2 also felt unnaturally sappy and saccharine. While some moments of levity among the scares and foreboding terror are more than welcome, much of the dialogue reeked of forced sentimentality and hammy cheese, ultimately taking me out of the horror of it all.
So, to recap, the Conjuring 2 is far from being a bad film. It outperforms its predecessor in some ways, but falls very low in others. Its tonal inconsistencies make for a very odd structure, yet one that is still rather predictable. It still looks very good, and delivers on some chilling moments, but isn't nearly as effective as the first in this ever-growing franchise.