Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor. Written by Chad and Carrey Hayes. Directed by James Wan.
If I had directed this film, I'd be one proud young lad. From the inception to execution, the movie is a smart move all the way. In this gizmo drenched and uncomfortably transparent world, establishing a horror story in present times is an awkward affair. Perhaps that's one reason why most of the "scary" films are subterfuge for some weird psychotic experience a character once had in his/her life because ghosts don't stand a chance in the age of Facebook and androids (of course, there are exceptions).
The Conjuring is set in 70's burbs, isolating us from the intruding eyes of technology and hullabaloo of a city. Throw a grainy dated film look and you're asking for some paranormal activity. The Conjuring is not pretentious. It believes in everything it depicts - from Satan to demons to spirits. This unabashed conviction bleeds into a viewer as a very personal macabre tale. Simply put, we live their world.
Ed and Lorraine Warren are a couple who takes pride as "demonologists" but have had their fare share of close calls. Ed, hesitant to take on any case due to the toll their work has taken on Lorraine, succumbs to Carolyn's helpless plea. Carolyn moved to a dilapidated house with her husband, Roger, and four children. Soon after relocation, they found something in the house was awry. And after some gleefully scary sequences, we find out what the real problem is.
The movie isn't path breaking in terms of script and plot. But the execution (like repeated use of zoom, the grainy look) is so reminiscent of yesteryear's classic horror films, a viewer is sucked into the center of drama. Such films, with so deep belief in the occult, are only suitable for a period drama not because they are too ludicrous for contemporary films but the isolation and simplicity of the old times hosts darkness with much more welcoming hands. I'd say, this one is a winner.
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