Posted by: Mike on Jul 22nd, 2013

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The Conjuring

It’s no secret that the trailers for The Conjuring are fairly terrifying.  So it’s obvious that I wanted to see it.  Despite being a big scaredy-cat, I do love this type of movie.  Based on what I was reading online beforehand, it was going to live up to the hype and terrify me.

I’m not sure if it was the annoying woman two rows in front of me that kept yelling “oh god!” or the nervous laughter from some of the teenagers in the theater, but it wasn’t that scary. It had its moments where you jumped or were scared for a second or two.  To be honest, I expected more. Especially towards the climax.  I wanted a good fifteen minutes of pure terror, one scare after another, non-stop.

I didn’t get that, though.

I won’t deny that there were a few times where I yelled “oh my god!” out loud, because something terrifying happened.  But it’s quick scares.  They happen and then they’re gone, just like that.

The lovely Vera Farmiga is wonderful, as always.  She embodied Lorraine Warren quite nicely. I really got the sense that she spent a lot of time researching the role.  Patrick Wilson plays her husband, Ed, and does most of the heavy lifting in terms of their tag-team demonologist-ing.

Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston round out our main cast as the parents of the Perron family, parents of five daughters, all equally scared of whatever’s in their house.

I won’t call this a period piece because it doesn’t take place that long ago, but the ’70s were a lifetime ago for some people.  It doesn’t feel old, though.  There’s old cars, old radios, and an old TV, but it doesn’t slap you in the face with its era.  The technology that they use to try to capture evidence to bring to the Vatican is period correct and very antiquated by today’s standards.

I enjoyed the story, but don’t buy that it’s based entirely on a true story (though Googling suggests that it is).  The movie was an enjoyable Sunday evening at a theater that serves dinner, so I really can’t complain.

Would I like to have been more terrified? Yes.  Was I happy enough with the movie? Yes.  Do I think that it was as scary as people are saying it is? No.  Close, but no.