The Conjuring [2013]

James Wan, James Wan, wait a minute, I know that guy! Yeah, he directed Insidious [2010] and already a cult classic Saw [2004], this should be good. And it is, with this movie he established himself as the master of house horror genre, constantly sending chills down your spine since 2004. Granted, there’s nothing new in The Conjuring, it’s your typical haunting movie with the same characters, same motives and the same story. The difference between this movie and the rest of the “The Haunting/Exorcism of ________” is the extent of effort and attention to detail. Everything is done top notch, the script, acting, atmosphere…. The fucking atmosphere, if you wanna know what bought me, it’s that suspenseful, engaging and ultimately haunting atmosphere…

1971,  Harrisville, Rhode Island,  Carolyn and Roger Perron move into an relatively old house pressed by financial troubles with their five daughters. One of the children accidentally discovers a secret passage to the basement of the house, and soon strange things start to happen (could not be expected…). Frightened for their safety and the safety of their children, they hire paranormal investigators  Ed and Lorraine Warren to see what’s going on with the house. Immediately upon entry in the basement, they sense that something’s terribly wrong and the battle ensues.

At the beginning of the movie you can see that it says: based on true events, and this is to some extent true (as always). The Conjuring leads back to the Amityville incident and the lives of Ed and Lorraine Warren who are real, and were paranormal investigators. I did a little digging and it seems that the story holds water, at least from a hysterical point of view. Of course, the ten-year period of the haunting was compressed, and some things were altered a bit, but with Lorraine Warren and Andrea Perron serving as consultants to director James Wan and screenwriters counts as something. You can check out the links after the review for more info on the actual events and people. I already mentioned that unbelievably suspenseful and creepy atmosphere, and now I mention those primal fears that we all have/had. Like someone pulling your leg in bed while you’re trying to sleep, I bet a couple of teenagers will have a rough night after watching this movie. Oh yeah, and hide and clap is something that I feel find utterly scary…

Director: James Wan

Writer: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Marion Guyot

Fun Facts: Eight generations of families lived and died in the house before the Perrons moved in. Andrea Perron suggests that some of the spirits from the families never left. Deaths include two documented suicides, a poisoning death, the rape and murder of an 11-year old girl, two drownings, and the passing of four men who froze to death. Most deaths occurred within the Arnold family from which Bathsheba Sherman was descended.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/

Links about the actual events and people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_and_Lorraine_Warren

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror