Movie Review: “The Conjuring 2” (R)
In a year that has seen a fair share of uninspired, unnecessary, and downright boring sequels (I’m looking at you “The Huntsman” and “London Has Fallen”), “The Conjuring 2” emerges as a follow-up done right. There are obvious traces of “Poltergeist,” “The Shining,” “The Exorcist,” “The Amityville Horror,” “Oculus,” and “The Babadook” as well as James Wan’s own “The Conjuring” and “Insidious” films here, but the “Saw” creator has such a firm grasp on the genre and is so adept in terms of his overall execution that “The Conjuring 2” does what it sets out to do — namely, make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. And Wan does it by way of an old-fashioned, atmospheric approach as opposed to resorting to blood splatter.
Once again, “The Conjuring 2” follows married paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they attempt to get to the bottom of a famed ’70s possession case that would come to be known as “The Enfield Poltergeist.” As the film opens, a run-in with pure evil during a seance at the legendary Amityville house finds an exhausted and terrified Lorraine questioning her particular line of work. She believes that to continue confronting evil could eventually spell certain doom for her and her loving husband. Of course, the desire to help unfortunate individuals plagued by demonic forces trumps all, so when the Warrens are led to a case involving a young British girl thought to be possessed, this heroic ghostbusting team springs into action once more. The question arises, though: Is 11-year-old Janet (played by Madison Wolfe) faking, or are the Warrens about to do battle with a more-than-worthy supernatural opponent? If you’ve seen the first movie, it doesn’t take a paranormal expert to figure out the answer to that question.
As was the case with the first “Conjuring,” this follow-up works splendidly as the cinematic equivalent of a top-notch spook-alley Halloween attraction. In terms of storytelling ability, Wan proves to be quite the craftsman and never takes the easy way out. His camera is constantly in motion and often glides seamlessly through the paranormal action. Wan also proves to be a master when it comes to mounting truly chill-inducing set pieces, the highlights being a beautifully edited Amityville-set opener, an intense scene set in a flooded basement, a creative running gag featuring an entity known as The Crooked Man, and a terrifying sequence involving a shadow and an ominous-looking nun painting.
What’s more, “The Conjuring 2” has a ton of heart. Beyond the scares and the age-old debate between science and the possibility of life after death, this is a movie about people coming to the aid of other people, and given all the crap going on in this world right now, its timely message of compassion couldn’t be any more appropriate. This is one of the few attributes that separates “The Conjuring 2” from a surface-level scare movie.
Also elevating this film is a very strong cast. Farmiga and Wilson are the glue that holds “The Conjuring 2” together. As the Warrens, they are warm, charming, and endearing, and this film is every bit as much about their love for one another (if Ed’s rendition of an Elvis song doesn’t sell you on that, you have no soul) as it is about their love for their fellow human beings in need. Madison Wolfe is equally outstanding as an innocent taken over by something unspeakably evil. We’ve seen variations of this character in other movies — see Linda Blair’s Regan in “The Exorcist” — but Wolfe brings her own level of humanity to the proceedings.
Not everything comes up aces in “The Conjuring 2.” There are a few moments that are a bit on the schmaltzy side, the final showdown between the Warrens and their foe feels a bit too easy, and at nearly 2 hours and 15 minutes, the film feels a little long. Furthermore, part of me wishes that James Wan would have put The Crooked Man front and center rather than reducing this intriguing supernatural force to a mere cameo, because he (it) would have made for quite the lead villain.
In the grand scheme of things, however, these are minor quibbles. By and large, “The Conjuring 2” more than gets the job done. It’s a very effective scare show crafted by a storyteller who clearly knows his business, and upon looking at all the trophies and antiquities the Warrens have amassed from their numerous paranormal cases though the years, it’s clear that this is a franchise that could go in several truly compelling (and terrifying) directions. And quite frankly, I’m looking forward to whatever that next direction might be.
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