The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2016)

Three years after he blew the doors off cinemas across the country with one of the biggest modern horror movies, The Conjuring, James Wan comes back with a true sequel to The Conjuring, aptly titled The Conjuring 2. Often, horror sequels try to get too big or too flashy and end up being far inferior to their predecessors. The Conjuring 2 is certainly bigger and flashier, but James Wan has some gift for taking a generic storyline and making it scary as hell. The Conjuring 2 takes place six years after the original film in Enfield, London. It's based on the Enfield Haunting, one of the most well-documented paranormal cases of all time and was labeled "England's Amityville." In this haunting the Hodgson family, a single mother and her four children, are being tormented by a spirit and call on several paranormal investigators to help them, including Ed and Lorraine Warren. The case quickly turns into a media circus with allegations that the haunting may be a hoax, and the Warrens have to decide if the kids are playing an elaborate prank or if the Hodgsons are living in a very real nightmare. Being a horror sequel, or really just a movie sequel in general, it's expected that this movie is going to up the stakes and flashy imagery compared to the original film. The Conjuring 2 is no different. There really isn't a scene that's as brilliant as the hide-and-clap game with Lili Taylor from the first Conjuring. However, at a staggering 134 minutes, James Wan packs in a ton of surprisingly durable scares. After a great opening sequence, Wan gives us about 5 minutes to get acquainted with the Hodgsons before already scaring us silly with the first night at the Enfield house. There's tons of agonizingly long tracking shots that ratchet up the tension for an incredibly long time. What's great is that not all of these shots end with a jump scare. Be warned though because if there is a jump scare, it's perfect. There's not a single cheap jump in this movie. The "scare scenes" themselves are very long; once one of those great tracking shots is done, you'll go to another person for an equally scary scene. Because there's so much suspense and so many scares in the movie, the 134 minute running time never feels too long. It feels just right, although the scares might be exhausting by the end of the movie. Wan also has a knack for making an old scare new again. He can somehow make a tired jump scare scary again, but at the same time, it's not quite as fresh as it was the first time. That's what holds back The Conjuring 2 from surpassing the original film. The Conjuring 2 does have some heart though. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are great as the married ghostbusters, and the Hodgson family is a likable group of people to hang out with for two and half hours. Madison Wolfe steals the show as Janet, who gets put through the wringer throughout the whole movie. Even if it doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor, The Conjuring 2 is an incredibly scary thrill ride that'll be hard to top this summer. I do have to admit that I did scream very loudly once.