maandag 19 september 2016

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Summary
In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, England, where single mother Peggy Hodgson believes that something evil is in her home. When Peggy's youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help the besieged girl, only to find themselves targeted by the malicious spirits.

Genre : Horror
Country : USA/Canada

Cast :
Patrick Wilson : Ed Warren

Vera Farmiga : Lorraine Warren
Madison Wolfe : Janet Hodgson
Bonnie Aarons : Demon Nun

Director : James Wan

My opinion

“My name is Bill Wilkins.
And I am 72 years old.
Where you come from?
I come from the grave.”

My wife was asking me already for weeks if we'd go watch "Lights out" in the cinema. Now, I really have no problem going to a cinema and watch a movie. Sitting in a cozy chair with a mega large popcorn and a maxi coke. Yet I wasn't so thrilled to go and see this one. Simply because my wife isn't such a fan of horror. It's a waste of money since my wife would watch it with her hands over her eyes all the time. So we compromised. What if we first tried "The Conjuring 2". From what I had read, "Lights Out" is much more intense and frightening than this sequel directed by James Wan. Let's call it an assessment test. Based on this test I'll decide whether or not we'll go and watch "Lights out".

Well, my wife failed the test (Can you believe that?). But I have to admit something. I was scared to death a few times. This was actually my wife's fault, whose screeching effortlessly exceeded that from an ordinary pig farm. There are indeed some strategic and perfectly timed frights in this movie, but overall I thought this film wasn't much better than its predecessor. Again Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are asked for their assistance, because there's somewhere a frenzied poltergeist who's driving a family nuts. So again it's a story based on true events (sigh). This time the story takes place in the United Kingdom. You can conclude the following. Not only in the U.S. people are being haunted by restless souls. And you can also state that there are civilians in the U.K. who make up such stuff due to lack of attention or intelligence.

Ed and Lorraine Warren are notorious for their paranormal investigations but won't get off scot-free. The stories of manipulations to get a bit of the media attention, ensure that the label "true events" will be treated with some skepticism. And also in this case, better known as "The Entfield Haunting", were some rumors that the whole story was financially advantageous for this poor family. There's one advantage though. We also get a nice, creepy horror once again. And Wan is also a master in finding the right balance for such a horror. Both seasoned horror fans as an occasional film viewer can find something to their liking in this film. The dangerous frontier of excess is never exceeded, so to speak. Again horror fans can prepare a comprehensive list of movies in which certain sequences of "The Conjuring 2" were used already before. In other words, nothing new under the sun.

The emphasis in this film lies on the threatening and gloomy atmosphere, without introducing bloody and gore scenes. This means that you'll be treated to some eerie fragments with spooky shadows, moving objects, scary sounds, banging on doors and even the manifestation of demonic possession. You can certainly expect some successful horror moments. They are as good as predictable, so I could warn my wife in advance (a waste of time anyway). But the absence of such a shock moment, is sometimes even more frightening. Despite its long running time, the film holds you in its grip the full two hours. Not only by the eerie moments, but also by the story about the interference of the church and the debacle about the veracity of Ed and Lorraine.

To be honest I thought this film met my expectations but didn't exceed the previous one. The demonic nun was more funny than frightening. Bill Wilkins, however, will scare the shit out of you. The cast was sublime. And not because of their performances, but because of their resemblance to the original persons who experienced this event. And if you don't believe me, you can check the original BBC documentary about The Entfield Haunting. Furthermore, the environment where everything happened looked gorgeous (a true vintage look with elements from the 70s) and everything was portrayed impeccably. For horror fans this is definitely a must. I'm sure we'll see a bunch of similar films, because Ed and Lorraine have compiled a whole series of similar disturbing incidents. Be my guest, I'd say.