September 3, 2018
Written by: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston
Budget: $20,000,000
Quote: "The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow."
Trivia: When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Catholic priests to bless the viewers before showing it. This was due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The priests also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.
Man, I really missed out on horror movies over the past decade prior to a few months ago. As a kid and teenager I used to search through the aisles of Blockbuster Video watching nearly ever movie I could get my hands on. Then in my twenties I was part of a horror movie club that my friend started where a bunch of us friends would get together to drink beer and watch horror movies. But then I moved away for a bit and didn't keep up with the new movies. So I had never seen any of the Conjuring movies, but figured I should probably give it a shot since the spinoff The Nun is coming out this Friday. Enough of my backstory...
The Conjuring is a film that explores the existence of paranormal activity. It is based on the true story from the case files Ed and Lorraine Warren which are more or less a true life ghostbuster married couple. The movie has a handful of cheap jump scares but what really makes the film effective is what we do not get to see in the film. The parts where the demons or ghosts are not visible and the moments when something is amiss but what is wrong is not yet apparent. When we finally first see the demon, it is rather disappointing because the viewer's imagination is what makes the demon and story so scary. But this is not to say that everything is left up to the viewer's imagination. Hitchcock and Polanski were masters using atmosphere to create suspense, but those were different times. Today's horror audience demands at least some visual satisfaction in the form of monsters and gore and this movie offers that as well.
The Conjuring begins with two stories that will meet early on. First we are introduced to Ed and Lorraine Warren, demonologists and paranormal experts that give classes on demons, are contracted with the Catholic church for exorcisms, and the wife has special powers (seeing demons, premonitions, that kinda stuff). They have a daughter and a room full of cursed stuff, including the infamous Annabelle dolls (which is given a five minute segment of the movie... just enough time to get the audience curious enough to watch the two Annabelle spinoff movies). Then there is the Perron family who movies into a haunted house. The parents and their five daughters (good luck trying to keep straight who is who especially since they look like the Warrens' daughter) begin to experience odd phenomena and eventually the mother convinces the Warrens to exorcise the demon from their house.
Pacing in the movie is especially impressive. There is tension and suspense from the first moments of the film that continue to build until they reach a fever pitch in the climax. What starts out as the children feeling hands touch them while sleeping and doors opening builds towards the mother being trapped in the basement by a demon while the children are attacked by another demon. With the arrival of the Warrens the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together: A woman hanging from a tree, a girl with slash marks on her wrists, a mother who killed her child. A woman cursed the land and all who inhabit it before killing herself. The demon eventually finds the mother and inhabits her body turning the haunted house movie into a possession movie.
While the possession part of the film doesn't compare to The Exorcist or even the dozens of The Exorcist ripoffs that have come out throughout the years, it is still done well. There's moments where she's close to murdering her exorcists, levitations, and of course vomiting (unfortunately, it's blood and not pea soup). The movie also does well with the mother's transformation. Once again, it's no Linda Blair in the Exorcist, but it is still cool to see her go from sweet housewife to demonically possessed and disfigured demon.
The biggest thing the film has going for itself is that it is based on a true story. Knowing that the plot of the film is true makes the events all the more terrifying. It really forces the viewer to put themselves in the shoes of the characters in the film. What would I do if I was in this situation? Also, it makes it impossible to comfort ourselves with the thought that it is only a movie. I don't know how much of the story is true and I don't really believe in demons or ghosts but it still makes for an incredible story. Also, the director James Wan is the same guy who directed Saw (and produced all the sequels) and Insidious. How's that for modern horror credentials. If not the best, he's certainly one of the richest horror directors working today.
No comments:
Post a Comment