The Conjuring (2013)

Like comedy, the horror genre can be a very subjective beast, finding or missing its mark as much do to its craft and execution as it does the particular individual who plops themselves into a theater seat. If something isn't scary to someone – someone who earnestly believes that of course – then a fright flick has failed at its core intent. Then we have something like James Wan's The Conjuring, an artful, confident throwback that succeeds in maintaining a high tensile level of pressure on our senses, crafting vital jump scares, a potent human element and all encompassing technical prowess. This is the type of brave, but stripped down horror filmmaking that forces you to analyze other elements besides just the full effectiveness of its frightening intent. Plus it's scary as hell.

The Conjuring completes a modern supernatural horror film trifecta started with Wan's own Insidious in 2010 and bridged by last year's unsettling Sinister. With these films the genre has proved that this is far from a dead, now inherently clichéd area of cinema and this effort is perhaps the best of all three. After breaking onto the scene in a big way with the trend setting Saw, the director took a bit of creative detour in the eyes of most with revenge thriller Death Sentence and supernatural doll flick Dead Silence (which is vastly underrated by the way) before rebounding with the aforementioned Insidious. For The Conjuring it seems Wan has taken everything he's learned – congealing everything he's found to be effective – and assembled them exquisitely and with ample new flare to boot.

The Conjuring pulls its inspiration from a case file of famed demonologists and paranormal investigators the Warrens, the husband and wife team who's other journeys inspired films such as The Amityville Horror. Here they are played respectively by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga who are now both genre regulars with roles in Insidious and the upcoming Chapter 2 due this year for the gentleman and Orphan and television's Psycho prequel Bates Motel for Farmiga. We've all seen the painful trope of priests, exorcists, psychics and every nut-job in between showing up at the eleventh hour to save a haunted family but the way they're approached in The Conjuring stands as one of the film's greatest strengths.

Though it's something that should be completely obvious out of the gate (but still something those inspired by the Warren's stories forget) this is just as much their story as those experiencing the phenomena. In giving nearly as much screen time to this duo as it does the Perron's (a seven family troop lead by actors Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor and their five daughters) we grow and involve with these nine individuals so when things get terrifying we not only feel just as much for everyone on screen but everyone gets a satisfying arc. It's something so rare in most horror films. Though this dynamic is certainly not presented through these two separate camps – the fearful and the experts – but the men bond over their love of cars and their wives and the women over the unfathomable: harm befalling their children. It's a satisfying an utterly untapped approach for the genre.

But "wait, wait" you proclaim "this is a horror movie after all, stop talking about the little girls and get to the scares!" Graciously, somewhat rude reader. The Conjuring is creepy, intermittently nightmarish, tense, gross, unsettling, and in its purest form, scary. Th

Fmovies: The Conjuring claims to be based on a true story about one of the Warrens' paranormal investigations. At this point, that fact doesn't quite matter, especially when this is mostly designed as a horror movie. And as a horror movie, its job is to offer real terror and take any ghostly elements seriously. The film isn't actually trying to give newer scares. This is old school stuff, but good old school horror movie stuff. This is the kind that gets to do more than pull off another jump scare trick. Another benefit the movie got is its director, James Wan, who delivers a crafty storytelling. The Conjuring is not terribly innovative, but I don't think it needed to. It's the execution that keeps everything so gripping, and I think we needed that in this suffering era of the genre.

The story is actually more than the haunting of the Perrons. The first act juxtaposed between their situation and the life of the Warrens. The Warrens side is a fascinating little exposition of their daily life and job, while the Perrons are introduced like any typical horror film that has a haunted house and family in it, the danger is slow burn until they get to realize they needed help. What makes this somewhat different from those clichés is we are also supposed to root and care for the investigators, like we do not want them to be harm by the spirits as well. For that, the tension becomes much effective.

Even at the less scary scenes, the film is also interesting. And yes, all the characters are worth rooting for. The major ones get their own stories told at the beginning and some flashbacks in the middle of the mystery. The performances are pretty enjoyable as they take the viewers into the characters' mind. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are excellent at exploring their roles and whatever they do are totally intriguing. Lili Taylor is engaging enough for shifting her character's innocence to something terrifying.

Most of the credit goes to director James Wan who makes it all compelling. We already accepted that jump scares are inevitable to our modern horror movies, but the better scares go when it shows its campiness, like the creepy update of the Annabelle doll, and some demonic masks and makeup. They are unlike to today's tricks that depend on gore and repetitive noise. There is also genuine terror can be felt in the quiet scenes. The finale is kind of ridiculous, but it's filled with energetic action which makes the ride even much fun. Apart from the scary stuff, the film continues to employ its style that serves a lot of magnificent shots. This could be one of the best looking movies I've seen this year. The music score brings sorts of good chills.

The Conjuring is no groundbreaker, but the film is best at recapturing the classic horror. Extra merit is fleshing out and adding depth to the story which made the ghost hunting investigation more thrilling. The craft is amazing and the performances are terrific. I think it has most of the things that lack in our horror films today; curiously setting the pieces together, relateable characters, good creeps, and full insanity. The Conjuring isn't meant to change the game, but because of the filmmakers' ambition and love for the genre, it is a marvelous experience.

This film was easily one of the scariest films of the decade, complete with a horror package that will make even those new to horror love it, if they are a fan of fear that is. This movie had every guy in the group at the edge of their seats with their girlfriends....it was an intense experience that cannot be missed in theatres. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmega hold their own as the Perron's and EVERY SINGLE child actor owned the screen. All acting was top notch and gave the viewer a throwback to original days of good horror, not the stuff we've seen nowadays. Time can only tell when a movie like this will come out again but we know now that James Wan is one of the best horror directors of our time.

The Conjuring fmovies. Just saw it yesterday in Nocturna Fim Festival. It was an outstanding film. So well done, scripted and acted. The movie doesn't have any mercy on the audience and it's so disturbing you won't believe until you see.

I'm not gonna enter in details or spoilers, just gonna let you now it a movie that gonna stay for you for a while after you see it. It also opens a door for becoming quite a paranormal investigator myself, looking up for all the details mentioned in the movie, and getting amazed by it' accuracy.

This film it's made to become a new classic in the horror genre, not only because it's quality, but because it's fright factor.

The first half of the movie it's paced down, let you know and love the characters. but the second half! oh boy! it's so damn chilling it will keep you gasping and crawling your hands.

Very well done

I got a chance to see this movie at the film festival, and boy was I TERRifically surprised! James Wan's 'The Conjuring' is one of those rare gems in the horror industry that finds a spot beside the classic titles of horror, 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', and 'The Exorcist' due to James Wan's ability to balance an atmospheric dreadful tale involving wonderfully crafted characters with a haunted house that had my palms sweating and my heart pounding during some of the most horrifying moments (There are a few of those; make sure you empty your bladder BEFORE entering the theater).

The things that make 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', and 'The Exorcist' good is that if the editor were to chop out all the jump-scares and those sequences that fry an image into your brain, you would still have a moody, edgy story that makes you sympathies for the characters and their struggle. This is what Wan does right in this film, and it's then that you realize horror is more than what pops out at you, or what makes you scream. Rather, it's that feeling of dread you get that escalates into sheer terror and suspense, aided by shocking scares.

BUT WAIT! All this not to say 'The Conjuring' doesn't have its share of frightening visuals and pee-your-pants moments; believe me when I say I also rank this as one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Yet, Wan realizes here that jump scares aren't what moves a story along, but what defines that classic image everyone gets in their head when someone talks about a certain horror movie that frightened them the most, kind of like a celebrity's autograph in the corner of a huge poster of their face.

All of this hence to say, "The Conjuring" is an exceptional piece of film that pulls all the right stops to frighten the audience, leaving a lasting impression on your mind as well the recently tired genre of horror.

Movie Score: 10/10!

"The Conjuring" is a high class horror film, its hard not to be scared by it, we care for the characters and the story is compelling enough to make you feel interested the whole time.

Based on true life events, Ed and Lorraine Warren are paranormal investigators set to help a family terrorized by a demon, said to be one of the most terrifying cases of their lives which they hadn't shared with anyone...until now.

First of all, I loved that it takes place in the 70's, I agree completely with director James Wan's point of view that it is almost impossible to make a horror film set in the present. For example, the teenage daughters of the haunted family would be taking pictures of the demons with their iphones and would be posting them on posting them on instagram, basically the demons would turn into the victims and the humans would be the bad guys.

The movie isn't perfect though, there are a few plot holes in it, but still it does have some great scares in it that had me jumping out my seat and I liked the way it builds up tension and lets us know the characters before it starts with all the craziness. Not only is the movie set in the 70's, but it also has the feel of a 70's horror film, with slow zooms and filming styles you wouldn't expect from a modern movie. I really believe James Wan has outdone himself with this movie, I'll even go so far to calling it the scariest movie I've seen in my life. Thank you James Wan for this great movie and good luck with Fast & Furious 7.

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great horror film, I guess it gives the feeling audiences must have felt when watching "The Exorcist", "Don't Look Now", or Poltergeist" for the first time.