Starts off solid, but doesn't stay that way

Rating: 4/10 (5 January 2017)

"The Conjuring" is an American English-language movie from 2013, so this one is also quickly approaching its 5th anniversary. IMDb categorizes it as a mix of horror, mystery and thriller and I think that sums it up pretty well, even if I would say the horror component is the most dominant. It runs for 110 minutes approximately and it is probably the most known work by both director James Wan and writer Chad Hayes, who worked on the script with his twin brother Carey, or at least among the most known. The film was successful enough for a sequel and that one is also by the people I just mentioned. The cast does not really include A-listers, but that's not a problem as horror films are usually much more about the scare factor and also about the script than really about great performances. The most known name you will find in here is probably Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga. She plays one half of a duo that specializes on investigating supernatural phenomenons and the Perron family is just the perfect occasion for them and their profession. This family, parents and a whole lot of children, just moved into a house at the countryside where they quickly realize things aren't normal at all. They find out an evil spirit is haunting them and it may drive them insane. So they decide to consult Farmiga's and Wilson's characters.
I personally enjoyed the first half of the film for the most part. It was nothing really new we got here, but the ways they used the unseen danger or included frightening situations were all done in a pretty competent manner. It sure manages to scare you and the camera work was done well too. Sadly, I must say the moment they really started fighting the evil spirit with the help of the married couple that is presented to us right away in the movie is when the film gets worse slowly but steadily. I did not really care for the exorcism sequences and the ways in which the Warrens/Perrons confront the enemy were also really showy, but not too memorable to me. Quite a shame because the introduction to the whole subject was pretty decent. I think the film also falls flat in really making an impact when it comes to the characters. Honestly, it felt to me as if all the family's children were entirely interchangeable and they did not seem to have any purpose in the entire project other than getting scared. Zero depth in character writing here and this also applies somewhat to the adult characters. Also the solution with the special family references about the ghost and the mother-daughter relationship they put the focus on did very little for me. This is also why at times I felt that the film took itself more seriously than it really had the right to and this went on until deep in the closing credits were we see real photos and the characters/actors linked to these. So yeah, I personally am a bit baffled by this film's awards success and strong reception. I am probably not the greatest horror film buff, but I have seen superior movies from the genre from recent years and they weren't even close to this one in terms of the strong reception. As for "The Conjuring", I don't recommend the watch and I have almost no interest in checking out the sequel any time soon. Thumbs down.