A modest, but almost perfect,
genre movie that genuinely scares
genre movie that genuinely scares
The Conjuring is a classically constructed haunted house movie that opened at number one at the box office this past weekend. That’s certainly refreshing since it doesn’t star an updated comic book hero(es) blowing stuff up against a blue screen with special effects expensive enough to pull Congress out of sequestration. Instead, The Conjuring is a really good genre piece with four strong actors (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingstone), who should be stars and would be if this were the ‘70s, delivering realistic performances, thereby making the mayhem even creepier.
Based on an investigation conducted by paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren, it uses the milieu – 1971 and a secluded, dilapidated, rural farmhouse to maximum effect. Actually, there are only two major settings – the Perron family’s haunted house and the Warren family’s home with its Occult basement/museum. Ed Warren outlines to a college class the stages of haunting/possession and the movie follows them fully. It helps that Wilson, who turned out to be the villain in director James Wan’s earlier sleeper Insidious, plays Ed as a sort of square Dudley Do-Right who’s protective of his wife for reasons that we’re longing to hear as the plot progresses.
Vera Farmiga with her Bette Davis eyes seems like her characters always have a secret; it makes her sinister (TV’s Bates Motel), sexy (Up in the Air) or extremely vulnerable (Joshua and here). She figures out what the demon wants before I could see it being played out, which underscores Wan’s smart, elegant direction.
Vera Farmiga and the Significant Music Box |
Possessed Lili Taylor |
Waiting for Their Questions To Be Answered |
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