James Yawn

Rating: 3/10 (3 August 2013)

I wonder how many horror films the other reviewers here have seen? It really cant be that many. The Conjuring contains not one original idea which hasn't been seen in a thousand movies before it. Banging noises, something in the cellar, clocks stopping, ghostly shadows, an Evil Dead face, someone murdered in a house, I could go on and on. The whole thing just had me watching to point out all the other movies Id seen these things in - made almost as far back as the 1960s.
Really the only appreciation I had for the whole thing was the great look it has of being made a while ago. The set pieces are pretty fantastic I must admit. But honestly, if you've seen even 20 "horror" films about a house haunting, you'll see nothing new here. I thought Mr Wans Insidious movie was ridiculous also (I still get a chuckle when I think of that Darth Maul demon appearing towards the end).
I guess with good promotion you can get people to go to the cinema and watch something they may not normally view. I reckon this is what happened here as The Conjuring really isn't that good. But fair play for them accomplishing this as most of the reviews here seem to be very positive. I loved Wans original SAW movie, and I really loved Death Sentence, but this thing is a damp squib for those who enjoy horror and find it a very rare thing to see something new.