More of a comedy than a horror film

Rating: 4/10 (8 December 2013)

In the last few months I've sat through 'Drag Me To Hell', 'Insidious' and now 'The Conjuring' and in all three cases they were more amusing than terrifying. To say The Conjuring is formulaic is the understatement of the decade.
Recipe to make a haunted house movie.
One all American family moving into a house in the middle of nowhere. One creepy child's doll. One creepy music box. One boarded up cellar. One piano that plays by itself. One younger child who suddenly has an invisible friend. One dog that refuses to enter the house as it senses something evil within. One old clock with a booming chime. Several creaking doors opening and closing at random.
Then add to the above spook hunters with a Scooby Doo type Volkswagen camper van and you have The Conjuring. Possibly the most clichéd movie ever inflicted on the masses.
There's even a TV showing just static (Poltergeist) and the house being attacked by birds (thank you Mr Hitchcock). Plus an exorcism scene that pales in comparison with the genre topping classic The Exorcist.
If you asked an adolescent horror buff to right a spooky haunted house movie this would be it. I laughed heartily all the way through.
The fact that they try to justify this tosh by claiming it's a true story just adds insult to injury. I'd forgive the claim of authenticity if it was a good film, but it isn't. The equally hyped (as a true story) Entity was a far better movie but if you want to watch a film where you could actually believe why the haunting is happening and therefore are genuinely creeped out, watch The Innocents from 1961. No gross out moments or blood and guts but a fantastically atmospheric and credible study of possession.