One Minute Review: The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring

Something has to be said for a horror film that keeps you alert and edgy throughout the entire film. “The Conjuring” is a throwback to classic horror films like Poltergeist and The Exorcist, with an eerie feel from the moment you step foot into the characters’ lives. Based on a true story, director James Wan delivers an age old tale of a family moving into a haunted house, with an attention to detail and an ability to scare that is all but uncommon in horror films today. Reminiscent of last year’s “The Woman In Black”, the biggest scares come from the loud noises and creaky nature of an old house and the ghosts that lurk behind every wardrobe door or blocked off basement.

Being thrown into the dark or witnessing an unexplainable occurrence is the source of the scares, keeping its crescendos at bay, remaining tight-knit and creepy. Something as simple as one of the girls seeing a ghost behind a door that we cannot see, is enough to send chills down your spine, which is the mark of a truly successful horror film. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga leading the film as paranormal investigators helps keep the film from feeling too much like “The Amityville Horror”, which focuses only on the family and their relation to demonic nature of the house. Instead, we also get an outsiders perspective and how they are effected by this haunting as well, making the story feel larger and more life threatening. With some of the most effective jump scares that I’ve ever experienced in a horror film and producing an truly eerie world where even in daylight you aren’t safe, “The Conjuring” is exactly what a horror film should be and will be remembered for exactly that.