The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 80 days to go.
In the case for The Conjuring franchise, all it took was one double clap in a trailer and off we were in what is now the most popular horror franchise of the decade. But the film is more than just a starter to a franchise, it’s also fantastic horror movie that is one of the best films of 2013. The Conjuring is also the best film director James Wan has ever made, and it’s something that I don’t think he will ever be able to top again.
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The Conjuring follows the “real events” of one of the most infamous case to ever occur to Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The Warrens are known paranormal investigators and are famous throughout the world of getting rid of demons or ghosts for many people. After solving another big case, The Warrens are approached by Carolyn Perron, played by Lili Taylor.
Carolyn, her husband Roger and their 5 children live in rural Rhode Island. They just recently bought a house and every night, something has come to haunt either them or their children. Seeking to understand Carolyn and her families worries, Ed, Lorraine and their crew go to the house to investigate and find something truly sinister living in the walls of the house. From the moment they step in the house, the entire film, and horror genre, change for better and for worse.
The film can feel like a typical haunted house movie on the surface, but what Wan does with this familiar story is elevates the filmmaking to new genre highs for this decade. It is good every now and then to have something that is familiar feel fresh and inventive. Wan is no first timer with this genre since he was the creator of the Insidious franchise.
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But unlike those films, The Conjuring is a beautiful film to look at. And even though you are tense the whole time, you can’t help but marvel at the film you are watching. What Wan does with this movie is make everything look haunting while sublime. Almost every shot like something out of a classic horror movie like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist or The Amityville Horror.
It’s like the film is a time machine, transporting the viewer to how films like this used to be made. Wan’s direction and style for The Conjuring feels so confident unlike anything he had put to screen before. One could argue that while now we live in the world of “elevated horror,” he started it with this film. The movie takes a passionate director working within a genre trope that has been used before but raises the bar, which hasn’t been done in a very long time. Yes, the film did spawn a franchise, but it also spanned a new era for horror.
While it is interesting that the film looks and feels something like Amityville, it might be an homage to the Warrens who were helpers in the infamous case. While some people over time have concluded that the findings of the case were made up and what the Warrens do is a hoax, Wan and company leave that up to audience to decide whether what they are seeing is real or if it is just a work of fiction. The movie is far in not taking sides but rather showing that these people lead a fascinating lives and that they have stories to tell about the horrors they have seen.
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Hell, the reason why this movie works is because we can look through the eyes of Ed and Lorraine and understand that what they do isn’t easy considering that everyone thinks they are making all of this up. The Conjuring respects the Warrens to give their stories life while also not letting them off the hook when the action and bad decisions start happening. Make no mistake that the movie doesn’t work without them, because we have seen stories like this before but they make this film and this series unique. Plus, Wilson and Farmiga’s chemistry throughout the franchise, but especially in this film shine through, as if they had been married for many years and seen many terrible things.
It is no secret that this movie spanned spin offs and sequels, that’s the nature of the film industry. But people have started to forget about the original since the franchise has blossomed into something no one saw coming. Sure the Warrens has plenty of stories, but to be 7 films in and still going strong is impressive.
So with more projects from this universe coming down the road, go back in watch the original Conjuring film. You will be surprised how much it holds up and just how re-watchable it still is. It’s a good damn movie and we should continue to celebrate movies that change the game while also scaring the hell out of us.
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