The Conjuring (Movie Review)

Rating:

The “1-4-0”: @TheConjuring is a relentless, eyes-covering, twisting in your seat horror ordeal that provides no relief until the end. A fun movie ride!

The Gist: Before the Amityville Horror, there was the Harrisville Horror. Based on a true story, a demon wants a whole family dead for invading her Rhode Island property.

The Highlights: Relentless, it’s the only word that sums up and justifies this movie experience. It’s a relentless, nonstop series of horror sequences that doesn’t give you a chance to breathe from the middle of the film until it ends. Just when you think it ends, the horror begins all over again. Where most horror films have a slow burn feel to it, director James Wan (Insidious, Saw, Dead Silence) picks up the tempo in this one. There is even some occasional humor at the beginning that fits perfectly well with the story. The characters an the acting are convincing, the scares and fright are right up there with the best of them and the production is top notch. One highlight I thought James Wan nailed, was bringing forth one of the more terrifying dolls since SAW. Just the mere look at her sends shivers down your spine. The picture is above.

The Lowlights: There really isn’t much to criticize here. Yes, there are some cliché scenes here, but not anything that isn’t tied to the classic format of building a suspense sequence. Whatever might look similar to other movies, works just fine in The Conjuring. If I had to nitpick, some dialogue in the dramatic denouement might have been a bit too risible for the context, but I nodded my head in disapproval for a second and got right back to terror.

Pay or Nay?: If you like haunted house movies, you won’t regret paying to see this. It’s a fun terrifying film that gets the job done. From the horror fare that has been released so far, it is one of the top 3 of the year. It is better than last year’s The Possession, Mama and The Last Exorcism Part II. The only ones that offer a better overall experience in 2013 is Evil Dead and World War Z. We’re looking forward to Insidious 2, You’re Next, Carrie and Nic Cage’s Frozen Ground.

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