The Conjuring Movie Review

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston
Directed by: James Wan

Paranormal, demonic possession or haunted house horror is not something I generally have an interest in.  Not for a lack of curiosity, more because they are rarely done well.  For every Amityville Horror or Poltergeist, there are about 30 Devil Inside’s.  Making doors slam and windows creak have been done to, you know, death…so in viewing The Conjuring, my first and only question was this: Is this going to give me something different?

The Conjuring tells the true-ish story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga) in the groovy time frame of the early 70’s.  The Warrens are Demonologists, Paranormal Investigators, or Ghostbusters without the proton packs.  Traveling the country, they educate college students on their paranormal encounters, as well as assist with any supernatural activity they can.  They both bring something to their investigations as Lorraine is an empathetic clairvoyant and Ed was even the only Demonologist to ever be recognized by the Catholic Church.

The Warren’s face their greatest terror ever when Roger and Carolyn Perron (Livingston and Taylor), along with their five children, encounter what appear to be several dark spirits haunting their new country home.  What begins as mild whispers quickly escalates to horror as the Warren’s attempt to gather proof of the haunting for the church, before the demons can take things to the next horrific level, potential targeting the Warren’s own daughter in the process.

The acting is superb, especially for a low-budget horror film.  Between this and Bates Motel, Farmiga is quickly becoming one of my favorite ‘Have-To-Watch’ actresses.  Lili Taylor has a similar task of running the gamut of emotions both as a mother and tortured victim, and once again the Indie Queen doesn’t fail.  The level of maturity, pain and horror that both of these women bring to their roles carries enough weight for five average horror movies.   Or ten if you count the Friday the 13^th series.

Wilson once again shows that he’s an actor that deserves a bigger canvas, yet continues to impress in small, independent films like this.  He’s that rare actor who seems to be able to pull off any role and I hope the success of this finally catapults him.  It was odd seeing Livingston as the warm, helpless family man after so many roles spent making snarky quips, but he pulls it off without a hitch.

But what you really want to know is, does The Conjuring offer something different.  After sitting, and squirming, through it I can tell you that the answer to my above posed question is: Yes.  Director James Wan has managed what few filmmakers have in this genre before: he makes the film feel both new and old.  He cleverly employs the best of both worlds in the school of horror. For every door creak, there is a modern effect employed as well.  For every slow build, we later find a quick scare timed to a beautiful score.

Never in the film did I feel like there was a cheapness by devolving into jump scares, the tired tropes of this genre.  There are numerous objects at play here, from the gloomy cellar to secrets in the walls, and each of them seem to be another character in the film.  Great restraint was shown on his part with the pace and effects and the R-rating comes from the mood and general creepiness, not from the usual blood and gore.

All of these clues lead me to this conclusion: The Conjuring lives up to the marketing and hype, it is easily one of the best horror films so far this year. Go see it with a date that doesn’t scratch when frightened, because there is a good chance you will lose an eye.

If $10 is the full price of admission, this one is worth $8.50

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider Podcast