Our House Gave It A Split Decision

Rating: 3/10 (3 January 2014)

"The Conjuring" certainly caused a split in our household! My wife loved it. She thought it was great. I, on the other hand, struggled just to stay awake (and I lost that battle at least twice.) The split was interesting, because based on the genre, this was the sort of movie that should have caused the very opposite reactions.
To be frank, every movie that claims to be based on true events loses a couple of points with me right off the top and has to struggle to get those points back. The Conjuring did not get them back. Yes, I know that the real life Andrea Perron (one of the daughters) says that the story is pretty accurate, but she frankly also has a vested interest in getting people interested, being herself a writer. So, take it with a grain of salt.
The basic story revolves around the Perron family, who buy an old house that has quite a dark and secret past - and the past becomes the present when the Perrons move in. Overwhelmed by what they experience in the house, they turn to Ed and Lorraine Warren - a demonologist and clairvoyant. The Warrens are real, and are themselves controversial, with a lot of people questioning their reliability. I can't honestly say that I found anything here that raised this above any other haunted house movie, mind you. It has the requisite "jump" moments, but nothing out of the ordinary for the genre. I really wasn't impressed with the performances and the story failed completely to draw me in.
My wife, however, loved it. In deference to her good taste (she married me, after all) I'll go a little higher than I was planning to go. (3/10)