Wan balances originality and nostalgia to create the scariest film in years

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2013)

First of I have to start by saying that The Conjuring is not just a masterclass of horror cinema but it cements James Wan as not just the best horror director this generation, not just as one of the best horror directors ever but, in my opinion, one of the best directors ever. This is shown with the very first shot of the film. I'm not going to tell you what the shot is of but believe me when I tell you that it really sets the tone and if this particular thing scares you, it shows you how scary The Conjuring is going to be.
While, in execution, The Conjuring is nothing new, a simply normal looking family move into a haunted house, the haunting begins with small things happening at first (in this it's all the clocks stopping at 3:07 AM) and escalates, they get people in to see what they can do and the apparition becomes increasingly violent and has to be removed. However where The Conjuring shines is with its scares. In many horror movies when there is a gap in the score, you know there is something scary going to happen but here it's not like that. At points when the score goes quiet Wan doesn't always throw something scary at you and when he does throw something scary at you there isn't always the sudden audio spike in the music rather he lets the horrifying look of the ghost scare you.
Another area where The Conjuring shines is with the performances. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are great as the paranormal investigating couple the Warrens and Lili Taylor as the mother who ends up getting possessed with some of the best possession acting I have seen since The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The children do great jobs as well which isn't uncommon in movies nowadays but it is still worth mentioning.
Overall, The Conjuring is the scariest horror film in years and with Insidious 2 coming out in September, James Wan is on track to a comfy seat in the horror directors walk of fame.