Another Traditional Haunted-House Story

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2013)

From the man who brought you Saw and Insidious, The Conjuring casts you into a familiar setting- one that revolves around a haunted house, a terrified family, and some experienced veterans in this paranormal field. What follows is an incredibly tense and frightening ride through a traditional haunted-house story. The film's major highlight is its effective use of jump-scares and placing you into that seat of hopelessness and the unknown of what's to come next, and I have to say that the cinematography is terrific.
Horror movies, in general, really have to rely on cameras to deliver the scariest experience to their audience from focusing on aghast faces to subtle placements of certain items. Anyways, The Conjuring's overall look proves how much more stupendous a film camera is over a digital one, but that's beside the point. This film greatly depends on jump- scares to affright its watchers, and it accomplishes just that as I found countless individuals in the room screaming, gasping, and holding on to their friends in anticipation of what awaits. Admittedly, there were numerous sequences that had me holding onto my chair, shocked at what just transpired and hoping for that particular character to escape unharmed. Rightfully so, the film takes a while to get to the problem of it all as it takes its time building up its characters (there are actually two branching perspectives) and the issue that's arising within the house, and as usual in most horror films, the buildup is much more entertaining and daunting than its climax.
On top of the scares, the Conjuring also benefits from its strong acting performances from the likes of Vera Farmiga to Patrick Wilson to even the kids (yes, usually the kids in horror films are horrible actors, but this time, they're extremely believable). The chemistry between Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) is quite evident, and the other family delivers as well. Whenever the kids are endangered, you're dramatically concerned.
Then, there's the script, which is satisfying in some parts and underwhelming in others. The greatest element that The Conjuring suffers from is its too-familiar "everything"- from the setting to the characters to the story and its progression. The film contains almost every single clichÃ© that most haunted-house movies are riddled with. At times, a specific scene feels utterly cheesy and slightly lackluster due to the fact that we've heard these characters saying these exact lines and performing these exact actions in other movies to the point where it feels predictable and unbelievable, ruining the immersion level in the meantime.
It's also a little hilarious that after so many haunted stories, yet another family foolishly decides to move into an obviously creepy home that sees its floors constantly creak and its basement scream "do not come down here!" The home is old and messy, and there's a freakish tree resting right in the front-yard. How can you not be suspicious right from the get-go?! In fact, during the first half of the film, I wondered why James Wan chose to direct this picture when it's so similar to Insidious. At the moment, haunted-house movies are a fad that should finally be stopped because at this point, no matter how horrifying said movie is, the film will lose points because of its traditional and uninspired route.
The music was okay, but at times, it was just more of the same generic horror music that you've heard in almost every single haunted- house movie before it, but then when that bass kicks in, your feet start tapping against the floor and your hands begin shaking. In the end, The Conjuring shocks you and disturbs you while you're in that theater room, but after you leave, you're likely to forget the ending and perhaps confuse the film with another one when it's brought up in a conversation. Simply put, if you're looking for a new horror film with an interesting concept and a memorable, unique experience, The Conjuring is not the place to look, but since there's a shortage of decent horror flicks recently, it'd be nice to actually witness an effectively scary one for a change. In that case, you can't go wrong with The Conjuring. If half of my theater screamed like a group of little girls, chances are you might to.