Some Good Some Bad Just Average

Rating: 5/10 (24 October 2013)

After reading all the good reviews on IMDb, I watched The Conjuring last night on In-Demand and I unfortunately came way disappointed.
The movie has a rather cheap "made for TV" quality about it, which was oft putting to me. The film also seems "thin" to me in the character development. Ron Livingston (Office Space) seems to have nothing to do with this role except stand around and look confused. He has hardly any lines that are more than 5 or 6 words and he is absent for much of the film.
The children are so interchangeable that it was hard for me to keep track of who was who and who saw what blah blah blah. I think Liv Tyler was a bad choice in casting, she seemed 20 years older than Livingston and although the film takes place in 1971 she is costumed like its 1940, very weird. The Warrens are also played rather thin, although anyone familiar with haunted house stories know who they are. Their performances are good but not outstanding.
There are plenty of creepy moments in the film to be sure, but most are predictable and nothing we have not seen before. I never really felt scared or needed to leave the lights on while watching, this in comparison to the original Amityville Horror 1979, which still scares the crap out of me every time I watch it.
Wait until you cant rent it cheap, it's entertaining but hardly the horror masterpiece some are claiming it is.