The Conjuring 2
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
James Wan returns once more to the cinematic world of ghosts. How does this, his fifth time playing in this playground, compare to what he’s done before? How many times can one filmmaker do the same kind of movie and keep things fresh? Is that even possible?
The answer to that is yes. The Conjuring 2 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but what it does, it does very well. Mr. Wan is an expert at using the camera to play with the audience. He knows all the horror tricks, he knows how to tease a scene, and get good performances from his actors, especially the young ones who so often sink the films that they are in. He is also a master of creating iconic creeps. Look, Annabelle the movie was crap but (A) Wan didn’t have a hand in that and (B) the doll is still creepy as hell. Here, in The Conjuring 2, you get an evil nun (which, just like Annabelle, is getting its own spinoff movie…oh joy) and The Crooked Man of nursery rhyme fame. Wan knows scary, and that is very evident here.
As for the story, it’s another look at Ed and Lorraine Warren, and their questionable ghost busting career. Look, I’m not a fan of the real life Warrens or of their overly fictionalized portrayals, but actors Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson do damn fine work in this film. They are the heart and soul of these Conjuring movies, and together they have a real, believable chemistry. The other actors (largely a British cast as this time around the main haunting explored is the infamous real life Enfield Poltergeist case that took place in London in the 1970s) all do commendable work as well. There is a bit of a mystery to uncover as to what’s going on and why, and James Wan even plays a bit of a name game far in advance of when it is brought up in the movie, that sharp-eyes viewers might pick up on. I did, and I always appreciate when a filmmaker does foreshadowing well. There’s even a bit of Amityville Horror fun, as this movie starts off in that infamous house of possible horrors. It was nice to see that spooky landmark used but not be the center of attention.
On to the extras on this new Blu-ray from Warner Brothers. There are five short featurettes, including a behind-the-scenes segment called “Crafting the Conjuring 2” that’s 10 minutes long; a look at the real Enfield poltergeist with the real people involved with the case that’s nearly 13 minutes long; “Creating Crooked” is about the wonderfully creepy Crooked Man from the film and that’s almost seven minutes in length; there’s a five minute look at the supposed haunted Warner Bros. set where the movie was shot, and then there is “The Sound of Scary,” which is a seven minute spot on the music from the movie. In addition to all that, there is a collection of deleted scenes. So yeah, this disc isn’t overloaded with extras, and I always miss it when a commentary track is not done, but neither is this disc bare bones.
The Conjuring 2 is another fine ghost movie. It may just do the same old, same old, but it does it better than the majority of other movies that try to pull off the trick. If you are a fan of ghostly cinema, as I am, you will have a lot of frightful fun with this one. If you are a bit tired of haunted house flicks, as I’ve heard some horror fans now are, this will do little to win you back. But as for me, I highly recommend it.
