Conjured Up Decent Thrills.

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2015)

The Conjuring (2013): Dir: James Wan / Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King: One of the best horror films in years. It regards facing evil as a married couple professed as Christians and paranormal investigators are sought to investigate a disturbance at a home featuring five daughters. It opens in 1968 with a closed case regarding an evil doll. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play Ed and Lorraine Warren paranormal experts. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor play a married couple disturbed when clocks stop at 3:07 AM as well as various loud noises. The children report being jerked out of bed by a demonic force as well as one sleepwalking incident. Familiar elements include the family pet that meets a nasty end. It also makes no sense for anyone to play hide and seek on a top floor when safety issues are a factor. It also never explores the outside lives of the children or the profession of the husband. At any rate director James Wan creates a film even scarier than his Saw or Insidious. Wilson and Farmiga are terrific as the paranormal experts. Farmiga in particular had a close call with their last case, which has her husband worried. Taylor wakes up with bruises and eventually is threatened with possession after a frightening incident in the basement. Joey King plays the young daughter who is more than aware of the things that go bump in the night. Well written terror that finally does what so many recent horror films failed to do. It triumphantly presents a victory for good over evil and prevails or conjures up the reality of the positive. Score: 9 / 10