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The Conjuring: Review
Tuesday 6th August 2013 | Ayse
7.5/10 for The Conjuring
After only two weeks, The Conjuring has already firmly established itself as the horror sensation of the year raking in over $87 million in box office receipts since its release.
It is a film that bears all of the well- loved hallmarks of classic horror: A terrifying doll, with a deranged and murderous expression, that I would sooner ward off burglars with than leave within 10 miles of a child? Check. A clairvoyant and her paranormal investigating husband working against malevolent spirits in the face of scepticism and ridicule? Check. A family seeking a new start, in an isolated, scenic, rural location? Check. A large and weathered house complete with looming antique furniture, groaning pipes, slamming doors and hidden passages? Check. A curse so harrowing that it has left the estranged community littered with corpses through the years. Double check. And lastly, the foreboding warning that this film is ‘based on a true story’ to have the audience wary and mentally assessing the strength of their door locks before the introductory credits are through.
One might think the result is a film full to bursting with over-used tricks. But rather, it is indisputably the case that The Conjuring is a fitting tribute to the classic horror stable and the canonical story. It additionally benefits from the involvement of the actual Lorraine Warren with the production of the film, the self-proclaimed clairvoyant upon whom the character in the film is based.
The plot follows Carolyn and Roger Peron (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston) who have moved from New Jersey into a dilapidated farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island with their five daughters to begin a new, idyllic, country life. After discovering a boarded up basement on the first night in their new home (and invariably disturbing the dormant and vengeful spirits within), a series of sinister and unexplained incidents begin to plague the family. Eventually Carolyn is driven to seek out Lorraine and Ed Warren, renowned investigators of the paranormal and supernatural, in a desperate bid to protect her family. What follows are a series of gritty and disturbing revelations into the tragedy that befell the house long ago and the tormented souls that are exacting their revenge.
One of the most striking features of the film is its exquisite build up of tension. Director James Wan masterfully incorporates a jagged and emotive score, theatrical lighting and intimate and arresting use of space to weave intricate loops around an audience who were never sure whether the mounting suspense would lead to a bluff or one of the few and therefore always effective shots of the lurking monsters. The film accomplishes excruciatingly spot on pacing which often left the anxiety in the cinema almost palpable- a noteworthy example being when one of the Peron sisters, awoken in the middle of the night, painstakingly slowly leans down to look under her bed to what we all unanimously agreed from behind our coats and popcorn, was certain doom. There is a refreshingly minimal use of gore too which is rewarded with some truly psychological scares throughout the film and prompting genuine screams of terror. In this way, The Conjuring stands alone amid its recent competitors all of whom seem to extort scares from predictable jump cuts or poorly executed gore fests that revel in violence for violence’s sake.
Many people will also impressed by how aesthetically luxuriant The Conjuring is. Not always fixed in a bleak, grey, monochrome, the chilling succession with the sweeping, sun drenched shots of the house and surrounding grounds, allow the audience to understand the Peron’s draw to Harrisville in the first place, and makes their unforeseen circumstances all the more pitiable. Wan is therefore afforded yet another medium, with which to evoke a changeable atmosphere that engages all of the senses. This pathetic fallacy contributes to the perfect sense of rural dislocation that the spirit and demon world have so fondly prayed upon in the past.
Commendable performances are given by Patrick Wilson (Ed Warren) and Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren) who were able to evoke the affection and intimacy of a married couple as well as the sympathetic and collected resident supernatural experts that offer some sense of order to the confusion the Peron’s lives. Additionally, Lili Taylor portrays Carolyn Peron as a scared and vulnerable woman throughout, and, in the film’s climatic exorcism scene, Taylor also rises magnificently to the task of portraying a fierce maternal love and devotion against forces beyond her reckoning.
With all of these favourable attributes listed however, there are some narrative gaps and points that are either left unresolved or prove to be inconsequential to the plot. There were a couple of occasions where some scares also fell short gaining malapropos laughter rather than the desired fright. Yet, The Conjuring is a solid motion picture with a consistent if not slightly clichéd plot which garners most of its appeal through a rich visual experience and the nostalgic nod to classic horror cinema.
See The Conjuring in cinemas and the trailer here:
Ayse Huseyin
