The Conjuring doesn't even remotely reinvent the genre, but its a darn good movie.

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2013)

In 1971, Carolyn and Roger Parren move their family into a dilapidated Rhode Island farm house and soon strange things start happening around it with escalating nightmarish terror. In desperation, Carolyn contacts the noted paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, to examine the house. What the Warrens discover is a whole area steeped in a satanic haunting that is now targeting the Parren family wherever they go. To stop this evil, the Warrens will have to call upon all their skills and spiritual strength to defeat this spectral menace at its source that threatens to destroy everyone involved.
James Wan gets out of his 'creepy doll' playhouse (sorta) and successfully tries his hand at hauntings. The Conjuring doesn't even remotely reinvent the genre, nor does it earn the title of 'the best horror movie ever/of the decade', but based on the hype and incredible positive word of mouth its riding on, one would think it does.
Pros: Wan simply succeeds by putting the story before everything else. The cast is filled with good, recognizable actors (whom I very much like). The acting, cinematography and score, especially the sound mixing, is top notch. It didn't feel like there were any unnecessary jump scares and I was totally immersed in the movie. There were a number of genuine tense moments. Not scary (except for one scene where I actually jumped off my seat and it didn't have much to do with the visual stuff), it was just very well done. Also, this is one of those rare times that I actually WANT a sequel for even though I was quite satisfied with the movie.
Cons: The movie has nothing new to offer. It feels like you've already seen this movie. The special effects (which are quite minimal) take you out of the moment at times. Some stuff were left unexplained which will bother some people.
I don't see trailers (except for superhero and sci-fi movies) or read about movies beforehand so as not to spoil myself. So, some of the things were quite a pleasant surprise of sorts. All in all, a very solid addition to the genre and one I look forward to seeing again in the future.
7/10