The Conjuring: Everything A Horror Flick Should Be...Except Scary.

Hello, WORLD!!!

Yep, Smokkee again. In case you hadn't noticed, this blog was formerly known as Smokkee's WORLD Favorites but since most of my favorite's these days are movies, I figured the name should reflect that. MOST but not ALL, which is why I added the + sign. I'll still be reviewing apps, books, etc, whatever. But most reviews will be movies, no doubt about that. Lemme get cracking.

So far the horror movies of 2013 have been less than horrifying, MAMA being a lone exception but even that wasn't scary. It truly had the horror movie mood going for it though, something that can not be said for THE PURGE or the truly disappointing DARK SKIES. Even though I liked the remake of EVIL DEAD, that too was somewhat of a disappointment. The people behind the new E D most have thought 'instead of actually trying to scary our audience, let's try to gross them out instead.'

                                                                                                                         So now I'm beginning to think that Hollywood has forgotten how to make a scary movie. Director and writer James Wan
may be Hollywood's greatest horror champion at the moment but his latest outing, THE CONJURING isn't scary. It does manage to effectively bring the atmosphere of those classic horror movies of yesteryear. One of my Twitter followers Joe Cicero (@radiojoecicero) believes it has a lot to do with the fact that this movie takes place in the 1970s. I believe he has a point.

THE CONJURING starts with two girls telling paranormal activity experts Ed and Lorraine Warren the story of a menacing looking doll that is haunting them. Ed (Patrick Wilson, in his 2nd Wan film) informs the girls that this doll is possessed by a demon who really wants to possess them. We next see this doll in a room in the Warren's home that houses all kinds of supernatural knick-knacks from previous investigations. Ed tells his young daughter that she must never, ever play in this room because of... well, you know, the evil spirits and all.

Ed is the bookwise expert of the couple and his wife Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) is a clairvoyant. There's two things that I should tell you about this movie at this point. First of all, this movie is based on a true story. The Warrens were investigated a numerous amount of paranormal incidents back in the 70's, the most famous being what became known as the Amityville case. Yes, THAT Amityville. Second thing is Wan takes that at face value and plays it like that. This movie portrays the Warrens as legit; not once questioning whether or not they are fake as history has. A wise choice, albeit not an honest one. Most folks would have been having their doubts (especially people of my generation,  for sure).

After meeting the Warrens, we next meet the Perrons:

Carolyn (Lili Taylor) investigates a strange noise coming from the cellar.

Carolyn (Lili Taylor), Roger (Ron Livingston) and their 5 daughters. They have just moved into a new house where, after their kids crash into something playing a game called hide-and-clap, they discover a cellar has been sealed off for some reason. Of course they go exploring it and before you know it, they seek out the Warren's expertise because of the very strange occurrences that start happening right after that. After the Warrens agree that something strange indeed is going on, believing it's another demon after finding the reasons behind it all, they conclude an exorcism is in order and they try to enlist the services of the Catholic church, who must give their authorization before an exorcism can happen. All of that leads to a last act that falls back onto the exorcism. 

I have not done the plot justice. I loved this story and how it's told. Wan obviously knows horror, being one half of the duo behind the SAW series and DEAD SILENCE (one of the better horror movies of the last few years and yes, that movie does manage to spook you). I'm interested to see how his next movie INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 will fare. I wasn't that much of a fan of the first one but it did manage to give the classic ghost story a modern day update. CONJURING manages to do the same for exorcisms. Most exorcism movies don't work well this days because exorcisms have been overused lately, bordering on cliche even, but THE CONJURING manages to throw some much needed curveballs with theirs.

This movie will not bore you. The only bad news is this movie wont scare you either. It's full of BOO! moments though and if those scare you, you just might be scared by this movie after all. Me? I long for those horror movies that stay with you weeks after you've seen them. This manages to stay with you until you leave the theater. Maybe until you get in your car. Still, that's better than the majority of horror movies released so far this year. Wan is already working on part 2 to this movie.