Let’s be honest: whenever I hear the term “scariest movie of the year” I become skeptical. Most horror films that start out in wide release are not very good. They either end up being a teen-friendly, watered-down, PG-13, un-scary snooze fest; or they are blood-soaked gore-a-thons that are not very scary. The Conjuring is not at all one of these films. This is a slick and creepy tale directed with loving care and confidence by James Wan (Saw, Insidious). It has what most horror films of late are sorely lacking: a cohesive, intelligible plot, where everything that happens makes sense and nothing is thrown in just to add a scare. Set in the 1970’s, our story comes straight from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigators that would eventually examine the Amityville House. In the film they are played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. The Warrens are contacted by the Perron family (played by Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston and kids) who have recently moved into a large farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and have begun to experience something really wrong in the house. The story is not an original one – the haunted house has been a favorite go-to for centuries - and Wan throws every horror movie device at you: scary dolls, dark basements, eerie toys, stopped clocks, creepy kids, and so on. But you know what? It all works. Wan knows how to use these devices. He avoids the typical jump-scare moments accompanied by loud, crashing music. He doesn’t fill the movie with cheap images of ghosts in the background, and there is virtually no blood – this is a haunting story, not a serial killer story. The film also has some intelligence behind it. People in this movie turn on the lights in a dark room before entering; they don’t go down into the creepy cellar where the strange noise is coming from; they react like normal people would. I commend anyone that is able to sleep with their limbs hanging out from under the covers after seeing this movie. Another little touch to the movie is its “resting points”. These are moments in the film where there is some humor, just enough to let the audience relax and breathe. Too often in horror these are overdone to the point of distraction or they feel out of place. And when they are done, the next big scare either immediately follows or it is so obvious it is coming that it has no effect. Wan uses these moments carefully, never distracting form the story, and each was placed in the film with care so as not to allow anticipation of the next scare. There are also moments where the audience is braced for a scare and it never comes, which is a nice change from the typical horror movie and gives the blood pressure a little time to even out. What really makes The Conjuring tick is its ability to make you care. I’ve seen a million movies that try to make us connect with the family in the house; last year’s Mama came close, but just missed the mark. The Conjuring is the first horror film in a long time to actually achieve this feat. This is mostly because of Lili Taylor and Vera Farmiga. Taylor’s mother is quiet and caring with a good sense of fun and what’s important, an involved wife and parent who truly loves her family. There is also a sense that she is the strength and backbone of the family, which makes later events in the movie that much more tragic. Farmiga is excellent as Lorraine Warren. It is established early in the film that these paranormal encounters take a toll on her and Farmiga shows this both physically and emotionally right up to the last shot. She also adds some emotional insight and weighty storytelling that is often missing form modern horror. There is one other character I feel should get some attention: the house. The Perrons buy the house at auction and know nothing of its history. It is a sprawling house with lots of rooms connected to rooms connected to rooms. Wan does a near-perfect job of making this house a living, breathing threat to anyone that enters, without relying on draping it in cobwebs and darkness. The house is clearly very old and in serious need of a paint job, but again, the movie is based in normalcy – it’s not a house that anyone would look at once and think, “No WAY am I going in there.” Not since Amityville have I seen a house so menacing. Wan is able to make even that pitch-black area behind an open door chilling (I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about the scene.) The Conjuring is masterful horror film. Wan has proved that the measure of fear is not equivalent to the film’s body count; it is what lurks in the dark spots of the house that truly scares us (there are those goose bumps again). Add into that a group of characters we care about, a well-written story and a haunting score, and you have what can only be the scariest film of the year.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 16:52:59 +0000
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