Not bad but definitely overrated

Rating: 4/10 (10 November 2014)

Don't get me wrong, I love horror movies, and I loved the recent similar 2012 film Sinister. But The Conjuring, although not a bad movie, just doesn't match up to the era it takes place in, nor is it very original.
The plot follows a family that begins to experience terrifying phenomena related to a Satanist witch who originally owned the land. The only ones who can help are two paranormal investigators, but things go really wrong when one of them gets possessed.
The Conjuring follows every chiche horror theme in the book. Evil possessed doll, creepy old farm house, haunted music box, melodramatic psychic woman, attack on a family pet, the list could go on and on of horror elements that have been used countless times before. Supposedly the movie is set in 1971. But the only real indicator of this is the one or two 1970's music hits playing in the background during various scenes. The characters look and speak as if you'd expect them to be texting, drinking Starbucks and watching movies on their laptops. The characters were too generic and I couldn't care less what happened to them, the soundtrack, aside from the two 1970's hit songs, was awful. The acting was okay but didn't suit the movie, and it was like watching a rip-off of The Haunting of Molly Hartley or The Ring.
Again, I'm not saying it was a bad movie, it just wasn't all that great. To be fair, the doll, although pretty typical, was creepy looking, and the acting, although not suiting the setting or plot, was pretty good. I can't say I'd recommend it but you may enjoy it yourself, it's all dependent on your opinion and preferences.