Write a commentThey say that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
If that's the case, I'm not sure what doing the same thing and expecting the same results is. Stupidity? Possibly. Going into "The Conjuring 2", I was pretty sure how it would play out.
Despite my misgivings about "Annabelle", it was still pretty scary. I may talk a good game (no, I don't) about how investment in the characters is what truly makes a movie scary, but I don't think it makes a difference who the character is that's being chased by an entirely black demon. Plus, the fact that the demon is entirely in black makes you second guess every dark room you walk in for the next couple of months.
With "The Conjuring 2", I had a feeling I was in for it. Very deliberately, I invited my sister and my friend Greg to see this one as well. Solidarity in masochism, I guess.
At one point during the movie, I looked over at Greg. Normally, he wears glasses but they were off and he was looking at the screen.
"Greg", I whispered. "What are you doing? Where are your glasses?"
He glances over at me, squinting. "I took them off. I can't see without them."
This dude has trouble enough seeing that he found a more effective way of not seeing what was happening on screen than covering his eyes. Me, I was still using my hands. It was the same thing all over again.
"The Conjuring 2" delivers the same level of scares and suspense that the first one did. With Wan back behind the camera, the audience is in good hands. Similar to Burton with "Batman Returns", Raimi with "Spider-Man 2" and Nolan with "The Dark Knight", Wan's "The Conjuring 2" is Wan at his most confident.
Similar to the story of the first, this one shows the Warrens taking on a case in England. It's a family down on their luck (like the last one) and in distress. The Warrens come in to save the day. The plot is extremely familiar.
The familiarity does not detract from the enjoyment. The simplicity of the story is refreshing; there's no reason for anything to be more complicated. When things get scary, they get pretty intense. As an indication to how intense, this film was rated R, not for "Hostel" like gore nor for dialogue passages that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. No. Just for "terror and horror violence". I'm not actually sure what "horror violence" really means because most of what is shown is pretty subdued. What you feel throughout the film is the weight of what could, and ultimately does, happen.
For the majority of this film, you're holding your breath. Wan plays the audience like a fiddle. He is in complete mastery of the medium. While Wan has gone on to other genres, he never seems quite as comfortable as he does in horror. His film "Malignant" is an exercise in subverting expectations. His "Conjuring" films are on the other side of the spectrum.
At one point of the film, Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson, settling comfortably into the role like a pair of old shoes) sits down with the terrorized family and sings for them, and with them, "Can't Help Falling in Love". Most horror directors would have this scene and cut away. Wan allows Wilson to sing the entire song before the family joins him. It is an incredibly beautiful sequence in an otherwise terrifying film. This scene is what sets it apart from other horror films. It's so earnest and pure that you can't help but get a little misty. Yes, on top of being a coward, I'm also an enormous sap.
IF there was a flaw to this film, it would be that the film is doing a lot of heavy lifting, attempting to tease out other potential sequels. The nun is particularly terrifying and is much better utilized in this film than either of her spin-off films. The Crooked Man doesn't make a whole lot of sense besides being visually arresting. Which is fine, the sequences are still effective, but they seem somewhat superfluous. If things fell apart in these sequences, it would be a different story. Thankfully, that's not the case here.
After walking out of the theater with Greg and my sister, we were all in somewhat of a state of shock. Partially because of it being a horror film, but also because of how consistent it was from the first. We were all pleasantly surprised, excited for the next chapter.
Even if some of us (read: one of us) had to take off their glasses for portions of it.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Directed by James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente, Bonnie Aarons, Javier Botet
Runtime: 134 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for terror and horror violence.
Rating (out of ****): ****
The Conjuring 2 is available for streaming on HBO Max.
