Halfway through The Conjuring 2, there is a scene where the paranormal investigator picks up a guitar and sing a song. He explains that because the evil spirits feed on negative feelings and that the family being united(in this case by music) would totally make the situation better. It's a cute moment amidst a film that is filled with some of the most suspenseful and gut-wrenching scenes I've seen in any horror movies in a while. So when the guy is singing on his guitar, he's not only singing for the characters in the movie. he is singing for the audience. And trust me when I say after seeing what this family has to go through in this film, you'll appreciate a cheesy acoustic guitar moment.
The Conjuring 2 tells the story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lauren Warren. This time, they are going oversea to England to investigate the haunting in Enfield. You know the story - a family moves into a house which, let's face it, is pretty obviously haunted. Don't tell me I'm not the only one who's surprised that it takes so long for them to realize this. Of course the poltergeist starts doing some damage. The family calls for help. Our ghost busting couple complies, so we have yet another haunted house movie.
The Conjuring 2 did not stray too far from the clichéd nature of the horror genre, but it is definitely much more effective in using those tools to scare us.
James Wann, who by now has cemented himself as the expert in making scary movies, uses the script, the performances, the visuals and the sounds to achieve the purpose of the film – to frighten us when things get dreadful and to cheer us up when they seem to get better. The direction is impressive. It is rare to see a director with such a strong control over his craft. It is rare to see a filmmaker who can use almost every aspect of the movie to create a powerful singular effect.
Wann also defies our expectations constantly. Knowing how easy it is to make jump scares, and how often it is done, and that he is guilty of using the cliché himself, Wann plays with the expectation. He would linger on an empty wall at the end of a scene. We wait for what's to come. The ghost is appearing in 5... 4...3... 2... 1... - and the scene changes – no jump scare. our expectation is being constantly subverted.
When the moments are supposed to be startling they are crafted to seem so. The lights go out in very believable ways. Wann sometimes changes camera POV – at times giving us an eerie POV of the ghost. Then he would also use tense soundtrack to elevate the suspense. He plays a kid song to create a kinda sick, dark irony – turning an innocent tune of the "Crooked Man" into a soundtrack of fear. A toy fire track is made to seem evil - not by CGI or big explosive movement but the fact that it moves by itself. It's scary because it makes that cute little siren in the middle of the night. Other times the use of pure silence emphasizes a sense of loneliness, realization or sadness.
As well made as it is though – it's still a horror movie. And I don't usually like horror movie. So why is it that this sequel strikes a chord with me so much that I might go as far as to say that I like it even slightly better than the first.
Well for one, it REALLY is a lot of fun. The movie feels like a 80s horror film. We even have a Grinch-like shadow of the so-called crooked man. The villain is a nasty old man who wants his house back. He laughs maniacally almost like a bond villain. This movie is not ashamed of being a supernatural movie.
There are moments of unexpected humor in the movie. They are not overplayed but they serve the purpose of lighting up the movie, making it more fun and entertaining. The movie also avoids the cliché of people not believing in the whole thing and so alienating the family. This cliché is so obnoxious – sometimes the person not believing has already seen the paranormal event so it doesn't make any sense they wouldn't believe it.
The performances are great. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles and own the characters. They have great chemistry and they take the emotions to the next level when it comes to their story arch. And yes, the kids – are they good? Yes. Absolutely. The main girl succeeds in playing both the terrifying and the terrified. She does it so well that I might just say she's the best actress in the entire cast. The supporting character like the mom delivers their fair shares of decent performances. The family also feels surprisingly believable. The kids are written and portrayed respectfully. They are not annoying meatballs jumping and mucking around. My favorite character though is Ed who is an absolute badass in this movie.
Finally, I've already said this in the beginning but this movie has some very well placed moments of warmth and loveliness. As the story speeds along it really is quite nice to have a segment of the film dedicated mainly for the audience to breath. To make us feel genuinely concerned for the family, the filmmakers have to make them more interesting than the usual characters we see in average horror films. They do not have to be complex but even the most simplistic moments of emotion can greatly elevate the movie. The third act of this film is filled with a lot of that. Our main paranormal investigators bond with the family and begin to feel more attached to the case. When the climax comes, we really want everything to go well.
Some people have said to me that the story of Ed and Lauren Warren are very dramatized and that in real life, things didn't really go this well. The point is, I don't really care. The job of the filmmakers is to make an entertaining movie that can provide us with a memorable experience. This movie succeeds in doing just that. In fact this movie is a much better Christian propaganda film than God's Not Dead – seriously this movie makes praying with a cross and fighting the demon really cool.
The Conjuring 2 is surprise flip-up to my expectation and for its relentless success in entertaining me, as well as its achievement in jabbing into some emotions, I have to give it an 8.0/10
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Not a big fan of fan fictions but @_HakunaMatata_ really did changed my mind. I liked 'Ready to Run' a lot and I'm pretty sure all of you would feel the same way if you guys check the story out!
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Film Discussion - 2016
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