A successful terrifying yet engaging horror thriller

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2013)

The Conjuring is an impressively terrifying (hate to say this) yet engaging and heartfelt horror thriller, inspired by the hauntings of Perron family case faced by real paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the 1970s. Despite the fact that it's frightening to watch, one can't help but to feel impressed with the film at the same time. While the film offers nothing new to the genre (most of the elements presented in the film were done before...dolls, bed pulling, sleepwalking, animals dying in a weird way,etc), but the pacing and execution was brilliant.
The acting main casts were excellent in delivering their best performance, especially Farmiga, her facial expressions is so convincing that you believe there's real evil lurking in that place. In addition, the lectures, investigations done by the Warrens in the film somehow managed to slowly build up the tension and convince many to believe that this story is rooted in reality. The film takes time to develop the characters and gives as much screen time as it possibly can to the daughters, so the audience can be involved with the family as the story progresses. Throughout the film, you're not just fear for the impending danger and doom that the Perrons will experience soon, but for the safety of the Warrens as well.
Overall, James Wan successfully mixed the best elements of haunted house and demonic possession concepts into one film and cleverly delivered them in a seemingly refreshing way to the audience. If you're not afraid of being scared out of your life and would like a decent challenge, be my guest and go watch it now.