It Conjures Up Quite A Few Scares

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2013)

I have to admit that when I heard about the Conjuring and realized that it was directed by James Wan who directed Saw and Insidious I almost didn't even see it. The movie stars Patrick Wilson who acted in Insidious, so I figured it would probably be the same movie essentially. I was very wrong and am very glad that I saw it. Because not only is the Conjuring a great horror film, it is a great film full stop.
Someone once wrote that every story has already been told, so it's not the story but how you tell it that matters. And this is certainly true of this film. Whilst the premise of the film is nothing new, the actual way it develops is what makes this movie great.
In the movie, it is 1971 and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are paranormal investigators who either disprove false claims of paranormal activity or assist people who are genuinely troubled by demonic possession. They are called by Carolyn and Roger Perrot (Played by Lilly Taylor and Ron Livingstone) to help them and their five daughters. The Perrot's bought a new house and believe that their house is haunted by something sinister. The Warrens agree to investigate and subsequently discover that the family is being haunted by a witch from the 1870's who made sacrifices to the devil and committed suicide on the property. Since then she has haunted anyone who tried to claim her property. Supposedly this movie is based on true events that happened in the 1970's. I never heard anything about this before watching the film and frankly I care more about the fact that the story is well written, not as to whether it's based on real life events or pure fiction. But the fact that the movie takes place in 1971 makes it better to watch then if it took place now as all the modern technology would make the movie less believable.
On the surface of it, the Conjuring is not original, and is reminiscent of movies like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, and many many more movies which deal with demonic possession. There are creaking doors, a gloomy basement, hidden passages as well as ghost children, a creepy haunted doll and an exorcism. What sets it apart from most other movies in this category is that here we become well acquainted with the characters in the movie and actually care about what happens to them. There is a slow build up of tension that starts from the beginning and doesn't let go even though there are moments of comedy to relive some of the tension. The movie goes from being suspenseful to horrifying and doesn't let up until the conclusion. Some scenes genuinely gave me chills even though they are not gory or distasteful. Another thing to mention is that unlike many horrors released recently this one has no nudity, no swearing and no gore. But don't let that mislead, this movie doesn't need to distract you by any of that. That's how effectively scary it is.
The acting is great from all the participants including the child actors who play the five daughters. The effects are very well done and don't distract from the story. The direction is great and there are some very effective camera shots.The music is good as well and suits the movie perfectly, adding to the sense of unease even though it sounds very similar to the music from Insidious.
People have criticized this film saying that it is not original and that creaking doors, demonic possessions and people levitating have all been seen before in movies and that's true, but that doesn't mean it's a bad movie in any way. A demonic presence levitating, doing its taxes whilst quoting the entire works of William Shakespeare would be original but that doesn't mean it would be good to watch or entertaining in any way.
In conclusion I found this movie much better than Insidious, Paranormal Activity or it's sequels, Drag Me To Hell and many of the horrors that came out in the last few years. I will definitely watch it again. A definite horror classic.