The Conjuring 2 (Review)

The Conjuring 2 (Film Review) 2016

The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 horror film directed by James Wan, the director of its predecessor, along with Saw and Insidious. The film stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Frances O'Connor.

The film opens with a sequence following the well-known Amityville case, which the stars of the film, the Warrens, acted as exorcists to. The sequence is interesting stylised, but lacks major creativity, repeating well-known cliches and cheap sound effects. Following this, the movie portrays a working class British family being terrorised by a ghost of a 72-year-old man.

I really enjoyed The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, likewise, but not to the exact same extent in some ways. The number of jump-scares was upped, increasing the audience's flow of adrenaline when compared the The Conjuring, but the amount of actual scares remained constant. The film displays James Wan's ability to terrify an audience, though, at times, through the use of slightly cheap means. A specific sequence involving a ''crooked-man'' comes to mind, a poorly animated and ridiculous villain. I found the sequence involving the portrait to be very creative and well-done. James Wan can clearly influence an audience. The film has a very dark and stylised look, which I really enjoyed. The feeling of anxiety is built from the beginning sequences.

The addition of romance to the film felt forced and unnecessary. I also felt that the amount of religious references (although I acknowledge how the film is very religiously based) was excessive. At times, it was reminiscent of a God's Not Dead film.

There were impressive performances from both Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren) and Madison Wolfe (Janet). The two son characters were extremely similar, and I actually forgot that they were two different people. Their defining features were boy-who-stutters and boy-who-does-not-stutter. The characters of the children other than Janet were very under-developed, seemingly acting solely as people to scream when the audience is supposed to replicate. I felt that the more minor characters in the original were more developed.

In conclusion, The Conjuring 2 is an enjoyable and terrifying horror film, although it can be ridiculous at times. Overall, I believe it's quite a strong sequel to the original.

I rate the film 7.5/10.

Rated 15a, runtime 135 minutes.