THE CONJURING Review

There is a difference between a film that meets the rules of its genre and one that is able to transcend them. What director James Wan (Saw, Insidious) does in The Conjuring is not to approach the film as if it were a horror film, but more a serious drama about a family in crisis. That he doesn't necessarily forget, but in a way uses the archetypes that make up the average horror movie in smaller ways, at least for the first act of the film, to imply what may or may not happen later. In setting up the expository information Wan is all the while creating his mood, but he is also giving us the tools to develop relationships with these people. He isn't simply going about setting up scares here and there that ultimately add up to nothing, but he is luring us in and making it unavoidable that we become invested in these characters that will ultimately undergo a life altering experience in the latter part of the film. What The Conjuring also does is to not look at itself as some kind of joke or take its material too lightly. It firmly believes everything it has to offer and doesn't intend to be anything but sincere about the subject matter. If it were to take on a nature of laughing at the Perron family or a sense of doubt in the main cast that is firmly planted in the conflict from the beginning it would lose all credibility immediately. A deal where if they don't take it seriously, why should we? The film does take itself seriously though and that is meant in the best of ways as it consistently keeps the tone and intensity any good scary movie needs to help convince the audience that what is going on on screen is as real and threatening as the mysterious sounds they might hear in the middle of the night and dismiss as nothing more than the wind knocking something against the window. It is all about atmosphere and mystery with today's horror audiences as most have grown accustomed to what kind of scares most horror films will throw at you. Wan uses those same kind of scares, but he executes them in a manner that is much more effective, much more chilling, and on the most important of levels, much more emotional.

First Trailer for THE CONJURING

I didn't see Dark Skies this past weekend, but I noticed it was heavily promoted as being from the producers of Insidious and Paranormal Activity. It is funny they mention these two as the last one I remember heavily touted as being from the producers of Paranormal and Saw was the wonderfully creepy Insidious. Director James Wan who crafted the original Saw film and 2011's best horror film, Insidious, has now returned to the genre with The Conjuring. Wan is a director I feel I can put a good degree of trust in when it comes to making a genuinely scary movie and if the trailer for The Conjuring is any indication it seems there is still no reason to doubt this. Based on the story of the Perron family who supposedly inhabited a haunted house in the 1970's Wan seems to have done what Ben Affleck did with Argo and is evoking the time period the film is set in by crafting the film in a way 70's horror was made and marketed. It is an interesting idea and though I don't know much more about the Perron case other than what has been provided in the synopsis I am anxious to find out more when the film hits theaters this summer. Apparently, the movie was originally scheduled to open this past January but after extremely positive responses from several test screenings Warner Bros. decided they might have a real hit on their hands and have placed the film up against Ryan Reynolds in both R.I.P.D and Turbo on July 19. The film stars Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston as the Perrons, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as psychic investigators and a supporting cast of Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, and Shanley Caswell. Hit the jump to check out the first trailer.