The
Conjuring 2
Janet
Hodgson: "Why do they do that?"
Lorraine
Warren: "Because they feed off of other people's pain."
The Conjuring 2 is directed by James Wan
(Insidious 1 & 2, Saw,
Furious 7, The Conjuring) and stars Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, Vera Farmiga
as Lorraine Warren, Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson, Frances O'Connor as Peggy
Hodgson, Benjamin Haigh as Billy Hodgson, Lauren Esposito as Margaret Hodgson,
Patrick McAuley as Johnny Hodgson, Bob Adrain as Bill Wilkins, Maria Doyle
Kennedy as Peggy Nottingham, Simon Delaney as Vic Nottingham, Franka Potente as
Anita Gregory, and Simon McBurney as Maurice Grosse.
Shield your eyes, children!
Ed and Lorraine Warren have just finished
with their case involving the infamous Amityville house which causes Lorraine
to stop taking anymore cases because of certain trauma there. Across the pond
in Enfield, England, another house is being haunted and this time a little girl
by the name of Janet Hodgson is the host of this spirit, Bill Wilkins. Above
anything that the local police can do, the Catholic Church enlists the help of the
American spirit hunting husband and wife duo. They travel to Enfield with
hesitation from the two. However, they find that this spirit is not only
causing problems within the household and the community, by means of media, but
it's also causing paranoia with Lorraine. Her premonitions, that originally have
helped the duo solve cases, is messing with her mind. She and Ed, being the faithful
and good people they are, do their absolute best to help eleven year old Janet
fight this demonic being, but are the problems revolving around the husband and
wife team constraining their ability to do this?
Yup. I must've yelled "Mommy!" at least four times while watching this movie.
Taking a look at the horror sequels in
the past decade or so, I found that a lot of them were absolute trash. So when
I heard that one of my favorite horror films was going to get a sequel, I
immediately was turned off. I didn't want The
Conjuring to be a franchise that would just make films for profit without
any true substance. Luckily, James Wan returned as the director once again for The Conjuring 2. Oh my god, (no pun
intended) this movie was fantastic! Scared is honestly an understatement for
how I felt during the majority of the film. Not even just being scared, but I
was also intrigued by the characters. I would definitely like to point out
Madison Wolfe's performance as Janet Hodgson because this performance is one of
the best performances I have seen from a kid actor (on par with Haley Joel
Osment in The Sixth Sense and Jacob
Tremblay in Room). She's an American
with an American accent, so knowing that gives me another respect for her since
she portrays an English girl. Maybe it may seem a bit stupid of me to say that,
but I can safely say that many adult actors can't even pull off an English
accent as well as hers (let me know if you disagree or agree, England!). Props
to James Wan for casting her as well. He usually casts good child actors for
his movies that include them such as The
Conjuring and Insidious. Not only
was Madison's performance eye catching and impressive, but so were the whole cast's
performances. Vera Farmiga's and Patrick Wilson's are other stand out
performances that I'd like to highlight. Their chemistry is felt throughout. As
a married couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren have been through a lot and The Conjuring 2 really shines on how
much faith the two have in each other. It's kind of a continuation of a love
story, if you think about it.
Vera and Patrick looked pissed that Madison is upstaging them a bit.
As with many ghost and demon movies, The Conjuring 2 follows the same
footsteps with having religious themes in the forefront. This isn't a good or
bad thing. I just think it's an important fact to state because if you're really
opposed to religion, I feel like this movie would possibly press your buttons
(or not. Who knows?). However, I think the main reason a person would be
opposed to seeing this horror movie is if it's not actually scary; if cheap
jump scares are abundant; if classic horror movie tropes push the movie
forward. The answer is yes to all of these questions, but they are done so
incredibly well. I tend to hate it when films do this: use cheap jump scares
when the film, as a whole, isn't terrifying or when exposition scenes are shown
with a guy hearing a noise and going down the hallway to "check it out".
The Conjuring 2 doesn't abuse these
moments, but rather use them to its advantage. James Wan is responsible for
this in that he created an environment with characters that are developed
incredibly well. It's a modern horror movie with a classic feel. Hell, the set
was blessed by a priest on the first day of shooting! If that doesn't scream
"Dear God...this is irony within irony", then nothing will. Off the
top of my head, I can think of ten creepy scenes that caught my attention. Two
specific scenes, though, are the horrifying nun coming out of a painting and
the debut of the crooked man. The nun, you can see from briefly from the
trailer. The crooked man, well, you'll just have to see The Conjuring 2 to find out what I'm talking about.
As I was making this collage, I just might've crapped my pants a little...*gulp*
While The
Conjuring 2 has a lot of things going for it, I can't help but feel a
little tired after watching it. Main reason being that it's a lengthy movie at
a whopping two hours and fourteen minutes. Yeah, it's not long for like a drama
or thriller, but for a horror movie? It is pretty long. The Conjuring 2
is by no means an Ambiancé , an experimental film running about 30 days (look
it up. It's really weird), but there are plenty of moments during the film
where you can feel the length of the movie as if it had a physical effect on
your mind. Most of the scenes where the length was felt were in the scenes when
much of the dialogue was taking place. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue, for a
horror movie, is fantastic and I could feel the fear and distraught in the
characters, but it drags on for a hair too long. Honestly, I feel like The
Conjuring is a great overall film while this one is a great horror film. The
Conjuring 2 nailed more than it failed in the end though.
This particular scene, with only dialogue, actually is a bit more emotional than I expected.
The Conjuring 2 is, once again, another satisfying horror movie.
James Wan, a very charismatic film director with his movies, brings his
throwback ghost stories and gives them a little bit of an edge with today's
filmmaking technology. Along with his careful, yet beautiful details in The Conjuring 2, the cast, lead by Vera
Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, make their mark in the modern horror genre as an
impactful couple that help the tortured from the claws of demonic possession.
Shout out to Madison Wolfe too for her astonishing performance as a terrified
eleven year old who, at some scenes, feels like she comes straight out of hell.
Unfortunately, it isn't often that a good horror sequel comes out (the only
ones I can really think about as I'm writing this are Evil Dead 2 and Scream 2),
but hope is still alive that they're possible thanks to The Conjuring 2.
4.4/5
- Unexpectedly great horror sequel
- Creepy as all hell (alright, pun intended)
- Performances from two leads and the main child actor
CON
- Predictable due to well used, but still used cliches
- A bit too lengthy of a horror film
The Conjuring 2 is rated R for terror and horror violence
Click here to watch the trailer
The Conjuring 2 is in theaters everywhere now
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