"The Conjuring" builds slowly, but eventually loads up on thrills and chills

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2015)

"The Conjuring" conjures up the spirit of "The Exorcist", "The Amityville Horror", "Poltergeist" and "The Birds", but manages to be scarier than any one of those by itself. "The Conjuring" is based on a true story (if you believe in that sort of thing) from 1971. The film follows the story of a couple who investigates paranormal activity and call in a priest when they can prove that a house's quirks are more than just squeaky boards and rattling pipes.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play the couple as two serious and gifted individuals who sincerely want to help people. It's obvious that they're inevitably going to be needed by the family who moves into a creepy old house (with an even creepier tree on their land) in Rhode Island. That other couple is played with charm and sincerity by Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor (who does Oscar-worthy work here). They have five daughters and a seriously malevolent presence in their home. As is the case with most horror movies, it takes too long to get to the really scary stuff....but when it gets there, look out! Slamming doors and dead animals turn into visions of evil spirits and, eventually, demonic possession.
As the ghost-hunting couple gets involved, things go from bad to very bad. Their research uncovers a long-forgotten series of tragic deaths in and around the house and they begin to gather audio, video and photographic evidence to bring to their contacts in the church. The question is whether all their efforts are too little too late. The malevolent spirit who started this whole mess has some seriously evil plans for the family. And when everything comes to a head....let's just say that the spirit really, REALLY doesn't want to go.
"The Conjuring" brings together the two couples' stories very effectively and all the efforts to save this family give us more to watch than most horror flicks do. The climax of the movie is so tense and action-packed that I'm even willing to forgive (mostly) the film's unnecessarily slow build. I give "The Conjuring" a B+.