Movie: The Conjuring 2
Direction: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente
Music: Joseph Bishara
Cinematographer: Don Burgess
Editor: Kirk M Morri
Genre: Horror
Rating: ∗∗∗½
What is it about: It serves as sequel to the 2013 “The Conjuring”. This has another case file of Warrens, which include a young girl trapped by a unanimous demon, which is determined not to let her go. The film is inspired by true events and is directed by James Wan.
Why it’s disappointing: The only thing which disappointed me was the way demonic was handled in the end. It could have been something else, but at the end of the day, it satisfied the hungry fans of horror.
What to watch out for: James Wan is a director, who has bit of old school in him when it comes to horror. His treatment has a peculiar touch with the genre. If you have seen his “Insidious” series and “The Conjuring”, you will know what I’m talking about. He has a nake to scare the audience, even if it’s expected in the scene. Which is something missing from other filmmakers in this genre.
The film moves at a great pace, doesn’t mellow at any part and maintains the intensity through out. Unlike the previous part, it has a scope for more scenes where the scare factor came in handy. With that being said James Wan exploits the opportunity to the fullest. He gave what the fans intended, you are bound to go with a fear thinking it’s going to get to you and Bang….he gets to you. As far as this movie is concerned clichés didn’t bother at all, in fact the audience enjoyed the obvious.
The central cast was fantastic. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have an electric chemistry, which makes them “Warrens” so convincingly good. They both reprise the roles from the previous part as Ed & Lorraine Warren and gave a commendable performance.
But the character which scores high is Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson, she was great and churned out a sharp performance, which brings out empathy in you. That was well supported by Frances O’Connor as Peggy Hodgson.
The film was impeccably high on technicality, which made this horror flick score more than what it deserved. My favourite was Don Burgess, avid and ace would be an understatement, he was way too good as a cinematographer. The camera just follows the vision of the director at a pragmatic level. Loved his work, because when the whole bunch was busy spotting the ghost on screen, I was enjoying the way Don Burgess was playing with his lens. This amazing cinematography was perfectly suited with a cut throat editor in the name of Kirk Morri. He was in great sync with Don and James, which resulted in a tightly packed film. Then comes the score by Joseph Bishara, which was tense and heightened the fear.
Another factor which makes a big contribution towards a horror flick is sound, and that was beautifully synced with a mix which was crisp and ground breaking. And the VFX department did an amazing work.
Verdict: Did James Wan scare you?….He did. Did he give you what you came for?….He did. Was it on the par level of “The Conjuring”, no it wasn’t. But he made sure not to compromise on his style and made a mix which brought in the subtlety of “The Conjuring” and the depth of “Insidious”, resulting in a horror flick, which will not disappoint you, but most definitely will scare you. Definitely worth a watch for James Wan’s dark wit which flows in the name of demons in his stories. And do watch it in a cinema hall which has a great set up to experience the horror in its full form.
