I found myself overwhelmed with the increasing activity and malevolent atmosphere

Rating: 9/10 (14 September 2017)

Having not watched any of the director's Saw films and assuming the Conjuring films to be over hyped, actually watching this was a considerable shock. This film is scary. With some knowledge as to the background, due to my late father's activity in the field, I found myself completely involved from the start. Before I could begin to wonder if we really were going to spend the whole of the movie in a haunted house, I found myself overwhelmed with the increasing activity and malevolent atmosphere. A family of five girls was the right way to go, whether or not this had any basis on the real story, because it added to the creepiness and seeming vulnerability of them. There are loud crashes and sudden movements to make the viewer jump but it is the way the whole awful tale is told and the intensity that gets under the skin and makes this such a very successful and surprisingly good horror.