"There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile...."

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2016)

James Wan is the best horror director working today. The man knows the genre so well that he can easily manipulate the atmosphere to terrorize the viewer. Such a masterful sense of control that he can easily control your fear. With this sequel, Wan has created 3 very successful and engaging horror series.
Paranormal Investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are called to England to investigate whether or not the Enfield family are plagued by deadly spirits or if the family is lying and the whole thing is a hoax. We as the viewer know the truth, we are with this family when the strange occurrences start happening. Yet Wan cleverly depicts such things in a shroud of mystery when the Warren's arrive to make them question if what is happening is real or not. Should they leave thinking it's fake, the terror we feel for the family will be even greater.
I believe The Conjuring to be one of the best horror films of the last decade and it's a hard act to follow. Wan tries to up the ante here with the sequel, the scares are more frequent, the demons/ghosts more creepy and the tension is tighter. I still believe the original to be slightly better because it was fresh and the atmosphere was simply brilliant, but Wan does marvellous things with the sequel.
Look to any other horror film and the artistic merit fails by comparison. Wan doesn't need blood and guts or even cheap jump scares to make the viewer scared. He simply builds tension, plays with our expectations and uses creative camera techniques to make the film memorable. One particular scene that stands out in my mind is when Ed first interviews Janet, the little girl who is the focus of the terror. The demon/ghost will not communicate unless they look away, so Ed turns his back to Janet. Wan focuses the camera on Ed, while Janet is out of focus in the background. It's one static shot where the out of focus character slowly and eerily changes into the demon/ghost. We never get a good luck at the thing, but we can see enough to know something is eerily off. Effectively creepy with the simplest camera technique. What other horror director would do something like that today?
Highly recommended for the horror fan and people who really adore the original. Wan has stepped out of the horror genre and has had success (Fast Seven), but he loves the genre too much to abandon it. The man knows how to direct a horror film and he directs this one extremely well. My one complaint is that the film is long. Clocking in well over 2 hours, it feels like it at times. I'd say to maybe take out one of the scares, but I love each one. Add to the fact that most of the effects are practical and it makes me appreciate the film even more.