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"The Conjuring 2" dir. by James Wan


This film was hyped quite a bit for being the much needed saviour of mainstream horror. I tried not to build my expectations up too much considering, it is after all... a James Wan film.
I liked the first flick, I even kind of liked Annabelle so I knew this probably wasn't going to be a movie that I'd hate, unless they went full Insidious/Sinister on it.
So I bought my ticket and sat in my seat with what seems like maybe the first time in my whole life, a packed theatre of moviegoers for a horror movie on a Wednesday evening.
About 30 seconds into the film I found myself rolling my eyes and wincing at the thought of this going on for another 2 hours.
But then....
Something amazing happened. They didn't follow the Amityville horror story which we all know so well and could recite in our sleep. Instead, they moved the story to the London Borough of Enfield for an entirely different haunting.
Without giving too much away, the rest of the film was filled with terrifying imagery, bone chilling atmosphere and believe it or not... amazing performances (especially from the kids).
If you've seen this film and you've seen The Babadook, you will probably draw up some parallels but even though at times I felt like maybe James Wan or the other writers probably saw and fell in love with The Babadook, this was still it's own thing.
It's also a very wholesome family movie. There are values. The Warren's are the cutest, lovey-dovey, ghost busting couple in existence. There's no cursing (swear word wise). Gore is to a minimum.
This reminds me of the days of the original Poltergeist (1982) where we didn't need a lot to get lost in the terror of the story.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best film that has ever come out of James Wan. (This review was written pre-Malignant)


If I had to rate this film, which I don't.... I would give it a solid 8.5/10

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