Of Dolls and Other Demons

Finally! I’ve been itching to see this one, and have been unable to find someone I could drag with me. The husband eventually caved and agreed, though he was already cowering at the Insidious 2 trailer. He’s a good guy.

The Conjuring begins in a very run of the mill way. Perhaps I am a little jaded by now, but the first hour of the film felt very reminiscent of The Amityville Horror and a number of other haunted house flicks we’ve seen before. A family moves into a spacious old country home, the dog is freaked out (come on!), the dog dies (spoiler alert, but if you’ve ever seen a horror movie EVER you’ll see this  coming a mile away), clocks mysteriously stop in the middle of the night (yawn), a boarded up basement is discovered (hey, we should explore this dusty closed off room!), a child talks to an imaginary friend (Jodie, Tony, yadda yadda). Typical. So typical in fact that while trying to ease the pain on the husband, I was able to prepare him for each and every scare for at least forty minutes. And I mean to the second. As in, cue boom of music, cut to me whispering…1…2..3….now. I didn’t miss a one. I’d like to note that I’ve somehow italicized this paragraph and cannot seem to undo it, so enjoy!

The acting is solid, the set design is truly gorgeous (haunted or not, I was ready to move into the Perron home), and the music is highly effective (which, truly, is an essential component to horror). I’ve been interested in this one for some time. As one of the fifteen people to actually watch A&E’s ghost hunting show of a few years ago, Paranormal State, I recognized the name of Lorraine Warren. I recalled the Warren’s connection to many cases of alleged demonic infestation, including the Amityville case.  I was pumped to see this biopic of sorts, and from the moment the film began, I was impressed with Vera Farmiga’s portrayal of Lorraine. Her mannerisms are spot on! As far as Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, I can’t say as much. He had a tendency to pick up and lose his accent and seemed to be playing Patrick Wilson tough, Patrick Wilson scared. That being said, he isn’t distractingly bad, just not noticeably impressive. The actors playing the Perron family, including Lili Taylor as mom and Ron Livingston (Berger!) as Dad and a flock of daughters are adept, save for Taylor’s sickening sweetness in the beginning of the film. James Wan does a skillful job of creating characters the audience wants more of and that viewers can begin to care about.

I was beginning to get discouraged by the lack of original scares and the heavy presence of we’ve seen it before scares. Things were feeling painfully typical for the first hour.  Luckily, I did eventually get a bit of an unexpected jump (yes, many a jump scare in this one, but effective, none the less). Thank goodness, I was already writing a scathing review in my head.

James Wan has certainly established a style for his scares. He favors claustrophobic shots, eerie things posted within his actors personal space, looming over shoulders, close enough to smell their breath. He uses some angles that twist the viewer’s head and disorient our line of vision. Upside down shots, swooping and twisting, continuous shots following characters through rooms, constant movement, letting us feel swept along. The story is in control, we are just along for the ride.

I won’t give away too much, and there can hardly be much I  can offer that hasn’t been said. WordPress is saturated with reviews of this film. The most intriguing aspect of the film is the history of the Warrens. Sure, the Perron story is where the scares lie, but I was left wanting more Warren. And it sounds like it’s in the works. This one certainly seems to offer options in that direction. On that note, however, we aren’t left at the end of this film with a sense of dread, which has become the norm lately. We are left with a sense that everything is wrapped up nicely and if we find ourselves plagued by demons, we know who to call.

There are some solid scares, many cheap jump scares and bait and switch scares, but once the film ramps up, there are some very tense moments involving a rather frantic exorcism and some very tight spaces that, combined with skillful acting, prove to be very convincing. Is it free of cheesiness? Not entirely, no. Was I terrified? No. did I cover my eyes? No. Did I spend time whispering what has happening to my husband, who was and did? You better believe it.

This film banks on acting, character development, and truly captivating directing style. Gore is not a factor in this one, which, after seeing Evil Dead feels awfully refreshing. It is solid and creepy, and I’ll likely feel compelled to watch it again.It is worth a watch, especially if you felt unnerved by Insidious. Or The Amityville Horror for that matter.

I’m left wanting to dig further to see how much merit lies in the ‘based on a true story’ tag.