When my sister and I were young, we played a game in which I would hide in a closet, she would open the door, and I would jump at her and scare her. She knew I was in there, and she knew I was going to jump at her, but she always opened the door hesitantly, dreading that moment when the jolt would come. No matter how many times we played this game, I never failed to scare her.
The Conjuring is a lot like that game, only director James Wan was me, and as I watched, I played the role of my sister, forcing myself to open a familiar door, knowing the scares are coming and jumping every time one did.
The movie is based on the true story of Ed and Loraine Warren, paranormal investigators active in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and their encounter with the Perrons, a blue collar family that made the classic horror movie mistake of buying a remote farm at an auction, no questions asked. If the things that actually took place on their farm were anything close to what happens in the film, then I feel badly for them. At the same time, I’m glad they bought that farm because if they hadn’t, then we wouldn’t have this gem of a film.
Wan and writers Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes know we’ll be easier to scare if we care about the Warrens and the Perrons, so they devote a proper amount of time to making us like both families. While they’re hooking us in the mouth, they’re slowly cranking up the tension with the usual bag of tricks: a dog that refuses to go in the new house, creaks and groans in the night, sudden drops in temperature, bad smells and little children who speak with invisible friends.
Then, just as our hearts are warming up to these people, Wan lets loose with some seriously scary hijinks. Unlike the trailer, I’m not going to give away any of the scares, but I will say you’ll never, ever want to play a game of hide-and-seek clap again.
One of the reasons The Conjuring works as well as it does is because of Wan’s direction. The audience for this film has seen its share of horror movies and knows every note of this well-known song. So, as I watched, I was surprised at how tense I was.
Wan sets up the geography of movie so skillfully, there’s never a question as to where a character is in the house or in relation to everyone else, and he often isolates individuals in places we’d rather they not be, based on what we saw in an earlier scene. He also shoots with a wide lens, giving us a lot to see and allowing us to choose where to look. Best of all, he employs a lot of hand-held point-of-view shots, making us feel immersed in the moment. He also frequently frames people in darkness, which had the effect of making me feel like something could jump out from the shadows at any moment.
The sound work is just as impressive. If you want to see The Conjuring, then you want to see it in a theater with a good multichannel sound system. When it comes to atmosphere, this movie has it in spades.
I should also mention the actors. Everyone does wonderfully, although I want to specially mention Vera Farmiga’s performance as Lorraine. If there’s an anchor in the movie, it’s her convincing portrayal of a woman who sees, hears and feels things the rest of us don’t, and that take a toll on her. Her compassion for the Perrons made me believe she would endure what she did to help that family.
The Conjuring is so well made, it’s few missteps are easy to see. There are a few moments that feel less like The Exorcist and more like Poltergeist. I like both of those movies, but could have done without the floating shotgun in this one. I also think Wan should have tossed the exorcism movie template for the last scene, which feels too paint-by-numbers, thereby diminishing the tension.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a scary movie as good as The Conjuring. It’s less concerned with special effects and more focused on developing its characters and building genuine scares. I’m sure I’ll remember it fondly for as long as I’ve remembered the game my sister and I played all those years ago.
Four stars out of five. Rated R for intense horror.