Sinister + Paranormal = The Conjuring

Rating: 7/10 (20 July 2013)

First the good. The movie is scary. There is little in the way of psychological thrills and chills (which is my favorite, think "Evil Things" for a fantastic example) but lots of shocks, jumps and BOO! moments that give you that jolt of adrenaline fear we scary movie lovers desire. Visuals are pretty darn disturbing, WELL DONE, and scary, too.
The not so good. The reason this only gets a 7 is it's a formula. Its Sinister + Paranormal with some parts taken directly from each film. Its a lot of haunted house clichés right back to Amityville Horror. It has a slight hole in the plot (the experts arrive to inform the terrorized family the spooky entity is attached to them, not the property - even though their research indicates the spook is strictly concerned with the property) Of course the terrorized family WON'T leave the house...etc.
If this had been an original story with more and well established psychological thrills, minus every haunted house cliché, this film would be an easy 8 or 9 and possibly a 10. The cinematography was brilliant, the acting was adequate, the spooks were spooky, just needed less formula and more originality.
I'm glad I went to see this in the theater. I'm also glad I saw 30 Days of Night in the theater. (to give you a reference of my taste) Even though its a 7, its easily the best movie I've seen all year, and likely will hold on to that spot if Insidious 2 doesn't knock it from top spot. You WON'T be disappointed.