The Conjuring

One of the best horror films from the USA in the last two decades! And I'm not exaggerating at all! James Wan has managed to redefine the genre, meaning that not everything has to revolve around simple jump scares that leave most of the audience needing a cardiologist. Instead, he takes a clever approach with a slow, yet effective build-up, leaving you needing more of a cardiothoracic surgeon :D The entire film is terrifying, as it is based on the real case of the Warren couple. The period details are captured flawlessly. The lead duo, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, are excellent, and the performances of the five little girls were also impressive. Wan deserves major kudos for NOT relying on CGI effects. Everything is done the old-fashioned way, whether it’s masks or other practical techniques that are digitally erased in post-production. And that final exorcism. Whew, I survived it! For the sequel, I’ll have to get the phone number of a heart specialist. You know, just in case something happens, and I can't handle it :D For me, it’s 8.5/10. (08/29/2021)

“Look how I can get you with something you’ve seen a hundred times before!” the talented James Wan said to himself. Brilliant filmmaking, especially the long introductory shots. The 1970s atmosphere, which best suits haunted houses, is well depicted. The Conjuring has quality actors and great sound, making it a grade-A horror movie that Warner Bros. can be proud of. But the ending could have offered more. The first [Rec] set a real high bar for final escalation. (09/16/2013)

I definitely have to commend Wan after the awful Insidious. Lesson learned this time; he doesn't try to render the digital finale on his cell phone alone, and more importantly, he's formally keeping pace with the times. I even snorted with delight at three shots – the lighting at the Warrens' first lecture, the intensity of which also determines the depth of focus of the shot, which informs the viewer of the setting of the scene by shifting the focus from the closeup (the lecture ticket in the visitor's hand) to the long shot (the packed auditorium with the Warrens on stage); the Perron family's move into their new house in a one-shot take, beginning as a crane establishing shot and then moving through the house, leading the camera through all sorts of obstacles and then a confusing camera sweep from under the bed to the door. Wan has done his homework, you can make a list of all the essential horror films of the 70s and 80s and tick them off as the film progresses. He does a great job of selling a thousand well-established routines to an audience only marginally watching horror. The problem, however, is if you’ve watched dozens of hours of this horror subgenre. For this reason, The Conjuring unfortunately doesn't have much more to offer me. (10/29/2013)

I-I-I w-w-was sh-sh-shaking with f-f-fear; not. Tension without fear with ineffective fright moments. Which wouldn’t matter if the movie weren’t all about frights and fear. Although, in the first half, Wan builds up and further tightens the tension in textbook style (basing this all on genre classics), nothing comes of it. Although, perhaps... An over-combined finale which tries to cover so much that it covers nothing fully. P.S.: Squealing Valena was priceless! (08/01/2013)

I saw it in the theater, but I feel like if I watched it at home on my computer, I'd enjoy it just as much. The atmosphere didn't really move me (= I wasn't scared, I only got scared about two times); it felt more like a thriller than a horror movie. (And looking at the genre, I was right on the money.) I enjoyed it because it wasn't your typical mindless horror movie with exorcisms of the devil. It had a nice "scientific" feel to it. With a few exceptions, it could do without the crying-to-the-heavens cowlike behavior of the characters. I was expecting something a bit more, so I felt a bit empty when I left the cinema, I felt a bit "unfulfilled" and it has nothing to do with my escort just gripped my hand... Not bad, but nothing to fall on your ass about either. But I found a flaw in the film! SPOILER When the mother goes to the husband-investigators to ask them for help, they don't want to believe her that there's really something going on. But then later on in the movie, they are told that the ghosts have stuck to them, that they will be with them everywhere and all the time, wherever they go, that the psychic can see them. So how come she didn't see anything when her mother came to them asking for help? It just boggled my mind... (09/08/2013)