We left the theater feeling like we’d gotten off a roller-coaster. That’s what I love about James Wan’s horror films, his ability to pull your strings, regardless of the quality of the story. But the story is good, and if you’ve seen the first Conjuring, you’ll know what to expect. This time we see Ed and Lorraine Warren cleansing a heavily haunted family of five in a council house in London. With two young sons and daughters, single mother Peggy Hodgson is left defenseless to ward off a demon taking the form of an old man. Ed and Lorraine, meanwhile, face an impasse in their career. After an encounter with a sinister demon during the Amityville Horror investigation, Lorraine gets premonitions to stop while she’s ahead. She doesn’t, of course.
There’s all the usual bumps and creaks Wan usually contains in his films. One of the best sequences features young Billy Hodgson evading a firetruck toy that won’t leave him alone. Another is Janet Hodgson’s sleepwalking escapades which place her randomly about the house (including the ceiling) at ungodly hours of the night. Wan unveils these sequences with ingenious transitions, some never before seen in his films. There’s also the typical jump scares, equally engaging and effective. One of the best shows Janet running from the old man. She runs in her room, slams the door and props a chair against the knob. When the camera tracks her crawling back into her bed, it juts to the side to reveal the chair now sitting next her. The moment isn’t ruined with a loud noise because it’s all visual, proving Wan’s direction isn’t limited to loud noises and grisly ghouls.
There are grisly ghouls, however, some of the best I’ve seen in recent horror films. I don’t want to spoil anything, I’ll just say I’m glad they chose to use makeup and effects on the monsters rather than computers. Wan emulates the theatricality of classic 70s horror cinema with an endless dedication to live performance. The realism of the monsters ranges from Nosferatu to The Exorcist.
The film boasts an impressive production design. The night sequences are easily some of the best created from Wan and his team. The film contains several pillow shots, including calm pan-overs of the old council house living room to the foggy exterior courtyard. Each is layered with textures and patterns to give the furniture and wallpapers a sinister psychology. To complement this, Wan’s team mixes oranges, pinks, reds and blues to light each transition shot in a unique way that reminds me of more conceptual horror films by horror mavericks M. Night Shyamalan and Guillermo Del Toro. Similar to how old Hollywood filmmakers manipulate light to create high contrast black and white photography, Wan selects a color palette that is both beautiful and frightening.
The Conjuring 2 has a story that isn’t without flaws or stereotypes. But who cares. What is said in a horror film these days isn’t nearly as important as how it is said. The story is far richer than the first and develops Ed and Lorraine in a way that raises the stakes. There’s a lot more scenes of contemplation and fear between the two, which gives us a good break from all those jarring jump scenes. The Hodgson family also has great development, more than that Brady Bunch family from the first one.
Story and style converge in the most exciting climaxes of any of Wan’s horror films. The supernatural elements are hilariously over-the-top, but you can’t help but love it. If you’re willing to believe the world of the film you’re in for a good time. Again, it’s like being on a roller-coaster. Once you’re on there’s no getting off, you just have to ride the ups and downs. The Conjuring 2 plays out its highs and lows with exceptional clarity and force. Will Wan ever make a better horror film? I don’t know, but he’ll definitely have me coming back to ride this one again.