Despite some initial unevenness, “The Conjuring” manages to be an effective ghost story.
“The Conjuring” is a film based supposedly based upon a true haunting (for that matter, so was “The Amityville Horror”) that happened in Rhode Island in the 1970’s. No matter what one thinks about such things Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) have a record of solving such cases.
Below is video of the Warrens from “The World’s Scariest Ghosts” television series.
“The Conjuring” isn’t a found footage film like “Paranormal Activity,” for instance, but it feels similar in the way that Wan’s camera follows behind and circles around the actors, as if it were a character itself. The movement isn’t shaky (or nausea-inducing) but it adds an interesting vitality not typically seen in such films.
These types of movies have certain tropes that are necessary to the sub-genre – furniture moving about on its own, strange smells and sounds, etc – but Wan approaches them in a matter that, while not making them feel new, at least makes them seem not as worn and threadbare as they actually are.
It’s an attractive film, though its problems lie less in the way that it’s shot than the situation itself. By which I mean the reality of such happenings – they tend to take place over a period of weeks or months – tend not to be as dramatic as they appear on screen, which means that the filmmakers have to take certain liberties.
That they are taken here, or in any movie presumably based upon a true story – supernatural-based or not – is understandable. The problems come when the movie – up to that point one that relied primarily on sound effects, atmospheric lighting and convincing acting to get its point across – decides it needs to up the ante.
I don’t know if this is the sign of a director who has lost faith in his material, or is simply out of ideas, but it almost undermined everything that came before. You can see the beginning of the scene in question in the trailer (it involves someone being tied to a chair).
What it reminds me of is a scene from another James Wan film, “Insidious,” which as also a bit over the top (it involved an exorcism, and gas masks) and also almost torpedoed that film.
Luckily, in the case of “The Conjuring,” the scene happens late enough in the film that it doesn’t ruin what came after, though things were touch and go for awhile.
SCREENPHILES 
Im still debating on seeing this.. Wan did torpedo Insidious, especially with the see it coming a mile away ending. the whole seance gas mask stupidity was distracting and the twisted fair tale world of ghosts and the goofy looking demon thing was just to much. at least the first half the of the movie had atmosphere and some genuine creepy factor.
I agree, though I didn’t mind the The Other (what you call a “twisted fairy tale world”) or the clawed demon creature, though the whole gas mask thing was so weird – and out of character with the rest of the film – that it almost knocked me out of the entire film, which would have been regrettable because it was pretty interesting up till that moment.
I would give The Conjuring a chance if I were you. There’s a typical Wan moment – like the gas mask from Insidious – but also like that moment, it doesn’t ruin what came before (at least for me).
Though I should mention, I saw it with a bunch of people that I suspect expressed tension by laughing. In fact, this one guy was laughing at so many inappropriate times (if the film were silly, I would have laughed along with him) that I almost wanted to backhand him.
And that’s on top of other people talking around me.
I probably will, there are scenes on the trailer that gave me a shiver LOL so Im hoping the rest of the movie will at least be decent.
I guess my biggest problem with the fairy tale world is it took the story from a ghost story to something else and what I had expected and wanted was a ghost story, which was what the movie had been till that point. guess its just me LOL the real killer for me was the moment the fathers back story is revealed I knew how it was going to end and that took the fun out of the movie from that point on.
thanks for taking the time to reply. Have a good one
It gets pretty crazy at times and that was fun enough. Nice review Brian.
Thanks. I enjoyed it too, but when I saw that woman tied to the chair I actually said to myself that I would lose it if it started to spin.
I didn’t but came a bit too close for comfort:)
Thanks. I’ll be dropping by your site sometime today.