I don’t watch a lot of horror movies, simply because I am
scared of them. I remember watching Darkness Falls back in the day and keeping
a torch next to my bed for a week because the ghost, Matilda is afraid of
light. But then, that’s what they are supposed to do aren’t they! I remember watching
Conjuring and thought to myself, this is the sort of horror movies that I want
to watch! Good investigative storyline, no over the top acting or short &
wet dresses and really good light and sound effects. But then Annabelle
happened and ruined it for me. I mean what kind of horror movie was that
predictable. But when they announced The Conjuring 2, I started hoping again
and I have to say that they did not disappoint although that is another way of
saying, they did only just enough.
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are
back, this time in England to investigate the supernatural incidents happening to
a family of single mom and 4 young children. The Warrens themselves experience
strange visions not necessarily relating to this event. How they manage to
solve both (In an extremely well thought out twist in the end) forms the crux
of the movie. The template doesn’t change at all. A family experiencing strange
and horrifying incidents during the night, a resident ghost who just won’t
leave and finding a medium to fulfil its demonic wishes. Then comes the warrens
who investigate the matter, collect proof of demonic activity and with the help
of the church manages to get rid of the resident evil. Same old same old, but
what separates the Conjuring series with other horror movies is how they have
managed to convince human powers to fight a higher evil. It is like how Gandalf
explains in the Lord of Rings Trilogy that it’s not great power but the
everyday act of kindness from simple folk that keeps darkness in bay. While in
the first part it was the love of a mother that fought the demon inside her,
here it is a family sticking together. This concept makes the Conjuring series
more endearing to all audience alike.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga has forged a simple yet
formidable chemistry between them that it’s impossible to think of another pair
doing a better job at it. Their simple acts of kindness like Wilson fixing the
poor family’s household items or the Elvis song that puts a smile on the much
affected family’s faces. But the breakout star of the movie is Madison Wolfe as
Janet Hodgson who is used by the ghost as a medium. There is an underlying
sadness in her eyes that lets her go through the sheer range of expressions the
character demanded with aplomb. Like I said earlier, the movie steers clear
from predictable horror movie stereotypes and therein lies their success. The
fact that they used real haunted locations and simple engineering mechanics to create
the horror scenes and not relying too much on CGI makes the movie that much
more authentic.
The movie has got its moments, quite a lot actually. But it
isn’t the scariest that I have seen and it definitely does not get you to the
edge of the seat all that frequently. Although the reason why Lorraine could
not sense anything in the house is revealed in an exciting climax twist, the
climax itself was a bit of a let-down. But what it quietly does is, let you
travel with the Warrens and experience demons in an unassuming way that you
actually feel relieved for yourself as much as for the Hodgsons. It’s not the
most riveting but it is not a franchise killer either. I am already expecting a
third part, only this time a bit scarier.
