The Conjuring

[Straker]

Watched this one a few nights ago, wasn't that impressed if I'm honest. Surprising lack of atmosphere and character development. I found that blur/ trail camera effect a bit irritating too..... Probably being a bit harsh on it, wasn't that bad really, I just never got into it.

[shadyJ]

I like The Conjuring, the setup techniques for all the big scares are perfected. It isn't a very original movie, but it feels like someone wanted to perfect an old formula. The timing is just right, the camera angles are just right, the lighting, the editing, all is just right for the sort of movie this is.

The only thing that stops me from placing it among the all time best haunted house movies is the movie lays on christian mythology a bit thick, also there isn't much of a character arc for anyone. The best stories are all about how people change, but that just doesn't happen to a great degree in The Conjuring. I guess the father becomes a believer, but the movie wasn't about him. The mother overcomes a trauma, and the family's love is renewed by the end, but those weren't such dramatic changes that the story or the audience is informed by them, anyways that wasn't main focus of the film's drama.

For me, the best haunted house stories happen when the protagonist and the haunted house setting (the haunting itself is arguably a character as well) realize some sort of destiny within the story. Some examples; The Haunting ('63 version of course), The Innkeepers, The Shining, The Changeling, The original Woman in Black (and to a lesser extant the remake), and there are others. The Conjuring just doesn't have this sense of inevitability, it's more about set-piece scares, however those scares are extremely well mounted. To sum it up, a great rollercoaster ride but not a great drama.

[Monkey Astronaut]

Just caught this on HBO for the first time. While this movie has some really tense scenes it felt a bit formulaic. However it really picks up steam about mid way through to deliver some genuinely terrifying moments and some pretty cool visuals. Vera Farmiga's performance as Lorraine Warren was quite good as was Lili Taylor's performance when possessed. Definitely worth checking out for fans of haunting movies as well as fans of James Wan.

[LittleItalian91]

I like this film. It is made very well and the protagonists of the film are interpreted so sublime. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are very capable and he is beautiful ( she also more )

[horcrux2007]

Great movie. One of my favorite recent horror movies. I've seen it 3 times now.

[Damn Heathen]

'Twas a good movie, but a one-and-done for me. Still, I'm glad I saw it at the theater. The forthcoming Annabelle looks to have a higher scare factor.

[Solarmist]

Originally Posted by Art School Dropout

Just caught this on HBO for the first time. While this movie has some really tense scenes it felt a bit formulaic. However it really picks up steam about mid way through to deliver some genuinely terrifying moments and some pretty cool visuals. Vera Farmiga's performance as Lorraine Warren was quite good as was Lili Taylor's performance when possessed. Definitely worth checking out for fans of haunting movies as well as fans of James Wan.

Great post - I really liked it, and thought it delivered a good paranormal story with some pretty good scare sequences along the way. I'm not really into exorcism type movies, but I genuinely liked this one. I'm a huge Vera Farmiga fan which made it all that much better ... for me anyway.

[tfantasy]

Originally Posted by Damn Heathen

'Twas a good movie, but a one-and-done for me. Still, I'm glad I saw it at the theater. The forthcoming Annabelle looks to have a higher scare factor.

I recently seen the poster and story line for Annabelle and it sounds pretty damn awesome! I hope it carries the "creepy" effect that it appears to portray.