Running time- 112 minutes
Certificate- 15
There is so little originality in The Conjuring it should not be as good as it is. Everything that is so cliched about ghost film's is included, from the deserted farm house in the middle of nowhere, doors creaking open with no one there, secret basement, scary ghost children etc etc. But the film's saving grace is the brilliant cinematography and performances of the cast.
Based on a true story, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are asked for help to help the Perron family, because after a few unexplainable incidents, they believe their home is haunted. The impressive opening credits and introduction showcase some of the film's effectiveness that follows throughout the rest of the film.
The director James Wan clearly loves the art of film making, as the audience we're always given a voyeuristic view of what is happening on screen. Camera shots are long and drawn out, and very rarely cut away in a matter of seconds like most ghost films's. I was drawn into the film throughout, unlike most other horror films, not once did I feel like like I was on the outside looking in. While many of the film's tricks are have been seen in other ghost films, the end result was never predictable. The film succeeds because the tension is genuinely scary between the moments of higher music and the eventual climax of each scene where the character's are in distress.
The cast is perfect, particularly impressive is Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren, and Joey King as Christine Perron. Because of the way the film has been shot and edited, it could have easily fallen on its own feet, but the terror comes through in each character in their own and individual moments in the film. Even the house the film is predominantly set in feels like a character itself, rather than just a backdrop.
Like so many ghost films, It's in the last third that the film falls a little wayward. because so much of the subtlety suddenly becomes rushed and chaotic, the sound effects become too loud, the cliches become unimaginative and forced. Think thunderstorms outside a secluded house with one person alone, someone possessed, someone being dragged and thrown along walls and floors. Those moments of tension are now replaced with predictable and laughable set pieces. Audiences certainly laughed in the auditorium I was in.
The film ends with the prospect of a sequel, which has now officially been confirmed due to the deserved success of this one. Let's just hope it matches the quality of the first.
Verdict-3.5/5
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