Review: The Conjuring

Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

It's been a long time since I've actually been excited for a horror movie. In fact, I can't remember the last time I looked forward to a film of this genre so much. Although I think it would be wrong to call a movie like The Conjuring a "horror" film because when I think of horror I think of blood and guts. The Conjuring, on the other hand, has hardly any violence. Still, somehow, it garnered itself an R rating from the MPAA for reasons many people explain as the movie being just so terrifying. So, I guess it'd be more accurate to call this one a thriller because the title of "horror" suggests physical disgust. Horror is about visceral violence that is thrust in your face to evoke terror, excitement, or whatever depending on how messed up you are.

Rather than relying on the grotesqueness of what is seen, The Conjuring delivers a string of old-fashioned scares cleverly designed around what is not seen. Time and time again, I have explained to people (who all generally agree with me) that the most scary things in movies (and life for that matter) is what is we cannot see. In the case of movies, it's about what the filmmakers choose to keep from showing the audience This is what makes movies like the first Paranormal Activity (in my opinion) so effective and popular because not once in that movie do you see the actual paranormal entity/demon. There's evidence of its presence with the footprints, a shadow in the doorway, and pieces of furniture being moved, but that's it. The thing, whatever it is, remains a constant tease throughout the film and threatens to reveal itself, but at the last moment, shrinks back into the darkness. 

Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

The kind of fear created by this tactic is most effective because it can transfer over to reality. Even in a movie like The Strangers (which is an awesome but very disturbing film) which features a human threat rather than a paranormal one never reveals the killers'/intruders' faces. They remain a symbol of the psychos that we know exist out there in the world. Whereas the movies that reveal the monster or killer break the spell and enables you to package and file that experience away because that thing has been seen and understood. There have been countless times where this spell has been broken in movies for me and it always ruins the experience. Always.

In the case of The Conjuring, we do eventually get to see the demon/ghost. But by the time that we do, the suspense and aura of the haunted house has been so carefully conceived and structured that the ultimate reveal feels much more natural and not forced like so many other movies. The majority of The Conjuring is shaped around creating a suspenseful environment. The audiences' understanding of the characters and their emotions is objective. This movie isn't as much about connecting with the characters in their terror as watching how they react to all the crazy stuff going on around them.

Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

And here is what makes The Conjuring good and better than any ghost or haunted house movie I've seen for a long time: director James Wan (Saw, Insidious) knows how to handle space and timing. There are a number of sequences (the clapping game from the trailer being one of them) where Wan demonstrates a keen handling of cinematography and editing that transform the spaces, doorways, etc, of the house into endless possibilities for something to jump out at you. Especially when the mother, Caroline (Lili Taylor), goes to investigate the clapping in the middle of the night, Wan uses a handheld camera to follow her from behind. The camera acts like a head as it swivels slowly from side to side to peer around corners and such. More than anything, this technique takes advantage of peripheral vision. There's a particular scene that I started to describe in this review that showcases this, but I decided against it to avoid any spoilers.

In this way, more than most horror/thriller films, you become painfully aware of everything in front, beside, and behind you. Combined with well timed editing and sound effects, The Conjuring becomes more about the terrifying possibilities of what could be lurking in the shadows behind a door...even though you may never see anything there! But like I said, you do eventually see the demon/ghost, but that doesn't take away the powerful effect of the earlier scenes. The house itself (which was an excellent choice of mis en scene) becomes more frightening than anything else. Suffice it to, this is a movie that will make you scared of your closet again. 

Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

This film is also getting a lot of attention because of its supposed basis in a real-life haunting case. Ed and Lorraine Warren (played very well in the film by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) were real "demonologists" sanctioned by the Catholic church who investigated such cases as the real Amityville Horror (or the case that the famous movie is based on and blows out of proportion). The Conjuring supposedly depicts the Warren's most terrifying case, and one that the real Perron family were not willing to let be made into a movie until now. Whether or not this movie is at all accurate, The Conjuring remains a very refreshing thriller. Even though it doesn't necessarily provide any very surprising or new plot twists, the feeling and tone that Wan creates is more than enough to make for a very creepy and enjoyable experience.