MOVIE REVIEW: The Conjuring 2

Very few horror sequels fare as well as their origins, often producing disappointment over anything else. Way too often the groans heard aren't from the film itself but from the movie goers, and their disgust at old tricks and familiar scare tactics that it all to quickly ruins the experience. I am one of those people who loves Horror movies because I enjoy being scared, I love the tension, and the heebie-jeebies of the hair on my arms and the back of my neck standing up. I love the anxious feeling that forces me to sit on the edge of my seat, my body eager to respond to a fight or flight response.

The Conjuring 2 is a frighteningly good time! I sat down just slightly into the Epilogue setting up the movie, pre Title showing on screen, and from the get go The Conjuring grabs you by the bones and rattles you every chance it gets. That's not a bad thing either. Director James Wan has once again proven himself worthy of being called a "Horror Master" worthy of sitting next to the greats like John Carpenter, and the late Wes Craven. I know most people are fed up with these money milking horror sequels, like I said that really never live up to their predecessors. The Conjuring 2 however, I will go as far to say is just as good, and frightening as the first. Trust me, I know how bold a statement that is. Remember when I said I liked being scared? The Conjuring a few years back, got me.... More-so than Sinister had me at the edge of my seat, or Insidious chilled me to the bone before that. So if a movie is able to get me to jump or look over my shoulder, it's doing things very right.

James Wan pulls out all the stops here, and does so masterfully. He has learned through his past films how exactly to disarm his audience, get you to put down your guard, and then hit you, hard. Everything from the awesome and resonating visuals you'll see in your dreams the next few days to the superb sound editing that is literally spine-tingling, to the cast Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren respectively, do a fantastic job in their roles and you can tell they revel in representing these characters and people to life.

The Conjuring 2 isn't exactly a sequel, as you'd expect most horror sequels to go - in the fact that the family and story told in the first movie ends there. The story of Ed and Lorraine Warren however continues, and that's where this franchise is focused. This is an entirely separate and different case. However, we have the introduction of the Nun, which presents itself as the villain that has haunted Lorraine Warren since before events of the first movie. These cases the Warrens investigate are actually based on real events and cases the real Ed and Lorraine investigated, this one in particular, "The Enfield Poltergeist" speaks of a family in London being terrorized by the spirit of a rather irritated old man who passed away in the house several years earlier and was possessing and tormenting the young girls and mother of the family. The unfolding of the tale is just as gripping and well done as the first Conjuring, and hopefully this is proof of a solid horror franchise that we can expect several more movies from in the future. Spin-offs are welcome as well, much like Annabelle, which the first movie spun off - and now it appears we will be getting "The Nun" as a spin off of this film as well. The story of which is still unknown, but as the Nun is a complete fictitious element to this story, thanks to Artistic License. Whereas Annabelle is based off a real doll that is claimed to be possessed by a demon of sorts. Overall, if you havne't yet seen this movie yet, GO NOW! I caught it in a discount theater, so it won't be in the cinemas much longer, and that is where these movies shine. They're still great on small screen but to get the full experience, they're much better in a movie theater, where the awesome sound editing echoes and reverbs off the walls, and the darkness adds to the atmosphere, the screams and eeks of scared girls hiding behind their boyfriends arm's all add to how these movies are ment to be seen. Either way, big or small screen, The Conjuring 2 I highly recommend catching.