The Conjuring Blu-ray Review

Director: James Wan

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Kyla Deaver, Shannon Kook, John Brotherton,

 Running Time: 111 minutes

Certificate: 15

James Wan keeps it horror with yet another haunted house film, although many would argue INSIDIOUS was a haunted child movie. THE CONJURING takes place in the 1960s, as well as taking influence from many genre pieces of the 1970s. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play real life demonologists/ghost hunters/kooks, Ed and Lorraine Warren, probably best known for their involvement with THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. They find themselves called to aid the Perron family, who are pestered by some kind of demonic spirit.

From the outset James Wan builds the atmosphere well. It’s tense, it’s unsettling, and it isn’t at all rushed. The dark colour palette and period setting work in conjunction with the brilliant cinematography. Even though he lays the foundations well, it lacks any form of subtlety. The dog is afraid to enter the Perron’s new home, the family play a blindfolded game of hide and clap, the father is away for long periods of time, and everything creaks. These are your formulaic tactics that we have come to expect, and Wan pulls them off with confidence, but with so many events we’ve seen before you just wish a few bits and pieces had been skipped.

When the horror elements start getting a bit more lively (or deadly), the “based on a true story” tagline becomes very questionable due to the number of plot holes and inconsistencies. I’m not one to crucify a film based on nitpicks, but it is made clear early on about the idea of vessels, yet these ghosts seem to be able to materialise at anytime. They also seem adept at causing great pain and physical injury, so you wonder why they are teasing this family for so long when they could merely kill them. It could be argued about the demons growing in power, but we clearly see them not having any issue with attacking people early on.

Each horror set piece, of which there are many, is well-constructed as an individual piece, with uncomfortably long shots and slow head turning, but the pay-off rarely lives up to the journey. When Wan unleashes his ghostly beasts, they are usually accompanied with such loud and jarring sound effects and boisterous music, that the audience’s fear is transposed from the event itself, to a quick jump tactic. Just as my hands reached up to cover my eyes, I was distracted by the assault on my ears in the form of doors slamming, people screaming, and an obnoxious soundtrack. Sometimes in horror, quieter is better.

What really does keep the film afloat is the excellent cast and their characters. For both the Perron’s and Warren’s we are treated to likable and realistic people that we don’t want to be hurt. Lily Tomlin is able to demonstrate the pain and torment on her face in so many ways that it never gets boring. Wilson and Farmiga act with conviction and chemistry, and even Ron Livingston’s bizarrely calm husband conveys the confusion and disbelief of the events. In terms of big name horrors, this is a very professional take that does a lot right, but it’s most powerful as an unconventional drama.

THE CONJURING is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 9th December.