Disc Reviews

The Conjuring Review

• 11th Dec 2013

James Wan continues his work within the horror genre with this haunting tale, based on a true story.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play a married unit of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorainne Warren, who teach as well as investigate the paranormal.

Their latest case comes to them from a rather desperate Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) as she and her rather large family have moved into a big house where things appear to be moving by themself. Not to mention the sceptical pet that has dropped dead, and a flurry of birds that have a habit of flying into windows and the invisible force that wants to bruise up Carolyn and drag her children from their beds.

In come the paranormal team with their cameras and detectors and pretty soon they start to piece the back history of the house together, but all the same they become unwanted intruders in an already protected house.

The Conjuring with all of its old fashioned scare tactics is still living in amidst a whole new breed of “old Fashioned” haunting thrillers including the likes of Sinister, The Innkeepers and Wan’s own Insidious series. What you get as a heck of a lot of screen time of very little happening with sudden bursts of “It’s behind/ Above/ Below/ Inside you!” type trickery. To be fair to Wan, this is the easiest way to scare an audience. Give them character building first, then silence followed by sudden camera turns enforced by a large use of string-laden orchestral manoeuvres in the dark.

If it’s bump in the night, and ghostly face reflections that floats your boat then The Conjuring is more than adept at its job. For long time horror fans though they will have seen it all before. But that isn’t to say they won’t be satisfied. Satisfied, but more of a memory jog than a lightbulb of inspiration.

Steven Hurst