Director James Wan has been a successful horror film director for some time now. Actively in the industry making a name for himself as the creator of Billy the puppet from the Saw films, Wan went on to executive produce the Saw sequels. In 2007, he directed his first horror film, Dead Silence. He followed in 2011 with a relatively positively received film, Insidious (2011). Now, in 2013, Wan brings audiences to The Conjuring. The film was a major summer box office success, with rave reviews from fans and critics alike, labeling it the scariest movie in years.
The movie is reportedly based on a true story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren’s encounters with The Perron family in Harrisville, Rhode Island. During the production of the film, the real Lorraine Warren, now 86 years of age, consulted director Wan on the events that occurred. According to Warren, the film portrays a great deal of the events accurately. Whether this is fact or fiction, it makes for a great story. For those who have no knowledge of the true story, it is recommended to do some reading prior to watching the film, with the exception of the type of movie watcher who prefers having no knowledge of the inspiration of the story upon first viewing.
The film begins with an opening clip introducing paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warre,n played by Patrick Wilson (Insidious 1 & 2) and Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel 2013). The film immediately takes off by showing a family moving into a house. There is absolutely no story leading up to them moving into the house as to why they are moving, who they bought the house from, or anything else. Viewers who have seen Wan’s films in the past understand that he tends to leave information out and does not have plots flow evenly from the start, so one can only hope that some backstory is developed at some point in the film. Immediately, the audience is introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Perron, played by Ron Livingston (Office Space 1999) and Lili Taylor (Say Anything 1989). They and their five daughters start to experience strange encounters directly from the start. While playing a game of hide and clap, they discover a basement. One would think that if someone purchased a home, they would figure out there was a basement if there were windows in the foundation, and where they think the heating system was.
Nevertheless, the family discovers that this basement is full of antique items belonging to the previous owner. It is at this point in the film that things continue to get weird. The children start seeing things, the mother gets unknown bruises, and the father seems clueless. Frightened about what is happening in their new home, Mrs. Perron attends one of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s demonology seminars. Wan again leaves out any detail about how she found the Warrens. A scene with her looking up a phone number or even driving to the seminar would have been sufficient. The film then takes on a modern-day Poltergeist (1982) feel, with the Warrens coming to investigate the house. It is determined the house is possessed, and we are provided with a little bit of a backstory of the property’s history. Leaving little room for breathing, the film immediately takes off into the final sequence of the demonic possession of Mrs. Perron. There is some creepy imagery in the possession scene, but it slightly seems like a takeoff of William Friedkin’s Exorcist (1973).
There are some well-executed scares in The Conjuring, with tension build-ups and sudden frights. The film relies strongly on imagination as opposed to visual effects, which is refreshing to see in 2013. It is also rather refreshing to see a horror film with enough genuine frights to get an R rating in 2013 with so many watered-down PG-13 ratings. The biggest downfall of the film is the complete lack of story. Where Wan succeeds in frightening the audience, he fails to create a deeper understanding of the characters. One could only imagine how much more effective the film would have been if they had known even a small backstory of The Warrens and The Perrons.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga did a fine job portraying The Warrens. Farmiga puts on a strong performance with emotion and believability. Wilson matches Farmiga’s performance equally, and they have good chemistry together on screen. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor, on the other hand, have no chemistry portraying the Perrons. Livingston’s acting is uninspired, unemotional, and just plain poor. There were scenes where you would think the horrors going on around him should have provoked a more emotional reaction. Taylor’s acting is not nearly as poor as Livingston’s, but she is not a believable loving mother, and viewers have no emotional attachment to her character.
Overall, The Conjuring is not a terrible horror film by any means, and in 2013, it does stand out. Wan clearly wants to frighten his audience and not gross them out. If he finds a way to develop his stories and characters around the frights, his future films could be the saving grace of the horror genre. For now, films like The Conjuring simply lack key ingredients to hold up to classic horror films of years past. Cryptic Rock gives The Conjuring 3 out of 5 stars.
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